Braga vs Chaves prediction 31.01.2024

• Competition: Liga Portugal
• Date: Wednesday, 31st January 2024
• Kickoff: 20:45 UTC / 21:45 CET
• Venue: Estádio Municipal de Braga (Braga)

Following their League Cup victory against Estoril in a penalty shootout, Braga is set to continue their season with a Liga Portugal match at Estádio Municipal de Braga. They will be facing off against Chaves, the league’s lowest-ranked team this season.

For the past fifteen years, Braga has predominantly been the third or fourth-best team in Portugal. Although it’s still early in the season, their chances of finishing higher than fourth seem slim as they are currently eight points behind third place and a significant ten points away from the top spot. Despite these challenges in the league, their victory in the League Cup has made this season historic for the beloved Archbishops. This is only their sixth major trophy in the club’s history, signifying a significant achievement.

Following an excellent previous season where Chaves claimed 7th place and nearly secured a spot in Europe, they’ve experienced a significant downturn this season and appear to be the leading candidate for relegation. At present, they sit in 18th place with just 12 points, trailing the safe zone by five points. Despite being only five points away from safety, Chaves is currently the weakest team in the league and faces a major challenge in avoiding relegation.

Braga vs Chaves pick: Over 2.5 goals

Braga boasts the second-most potent offense in Portugal, having netted 42 goals in 18 rounds, averaging 2.33 per game. However, their defensive performance leaves much to be desired, which explains their current league standings. They’ve conceded 26 goals and only managed to keep a clean sheet once in 18 rounds. This combination of a strong offense and weak defense has resulted in Braga having the highest average goal per game in the league, standing at 3.8.

Chaves’ defensive performance has been incredibly poor, having conceded 44 goals &— the highest in the league. Thus, it is entirely plausible that they could concede at least two or three goals against the league’s second-best offensive team. However, Chaves have an average scoring rate of one goal per game and could potentially score against Braga, who have been struggling to maintain a clean sheet.

In 18 league games, both teams exceeded 2.5 goals 13 times, accounting for 72.2% of the games. The previous head-to-head match ended in a 4:2 victory for Braga. Given this data, we anticipate a game with a high score, where it’s probable that both teams will score.