Rangers vs Braga: Preview of the Europa League clash

Braga are in Scotland as they face the daunting prospect of playing in front of Ibrox in front of two sets of expecting fans as they hope to keep their European journey alive.

Here we take a look at the match and preview the most in form side in Portuguese football, who have cemented their place as a big club in national, and continental football.

Braga's Form has been truly extraordinary. Their decision to change manager just after Christmas after a 4-1 win over Paços Ferreira, was greeted with tremendous scepticism, a sacking that was almost unanimously viewed as undeserved and one that could really come back to haunt them. They’d been very underwhelming in the league under Ricardo Sá Pinto, but in the Europa they were flying, and for Braga, you always get the sense that a European run is of particular significance.

The surprise at his sacking was only reemphasized when the man chosen to replace him with was none other than 34-year old Ruben Amorim, who had no managerial experience above the third tier of Portuguese football. It was a bold, and in many ways rather reckless appointment, but he was highly regarded within the Braga hierarchy – and now you can see why.

There aren't really sufficient superlatives to describe just how extraordinary Braga’s form has been; in Amorim's first match at the helm, Braga earned the biggest win in their history, thumping Belenenses 1-7 away, and that set the tone for how good Braga were going to be under Amorim.

Since then, they haven't lost in any of the nine matches he's overseen, winning 8, including against Benfica twice, Porto twice and Sporting. Not just unbeaten, but a 100% win record against the “Big Three” in Portugal, with five wins out of five. And if that wasn't enough, he's already led Braga to cup glory, defeating Sporting in the semifinal before hitting a late winner against Porto in the final to win the Portuguese League Cup.

To say Braga have been inspiring under Amorim would be an understatement, and they are irrefutably the best team in Portugal right now.

The absurdity, though, is that Braga, on the whole, aren't really overachieving at all this season; in recent weeks and the last couple of months, they've been tremendous, but at this stage last season, they had 49 points in the Primeira Liga. This year, they have just 37. And it's really because they're having to make up time after such a poor start domestically under Sá Pinto.

I also think, despite the likely financial disparity between them and Sporting, they have a much better team than Sporting, and the fact that they are only one point above them isn't a reflection of their current level. They are closer to Benfica and Porto’s standard than they are to Sporting's, who are a distinctly average team now Bruno Fernandes has departed.

With regards to the upcoming match, though, who are the players Rangers will need to watch out for? Well, there's a great deal of creativity in this Braga team. Ricardo Horta is perhaps their talisman, the left winger a real danger to any opposition back line. Galeno on the opposite flank is equally creative and technically gifted.

Braga also have very good fullbacks in Ricardo Esgaio and Nuno Sequeira, who are both very accomplished defensively, but also will look to overlap and whip some crosses in, which is very much a trademark style from Braga. There's more to them than just crosses, of course, as they are a talented team, but Braga over the years have been associated with good crossing ability, and that's no different in this squad. They've got a good balance to their midfield too, and Raul Silva could be pivotal in Braga’s defence having performed very well against Benfica at the weekend.

And let's not forget Barcelona-bound Francisco Trincão; he may not start, but off the bench, he could really test Rangers’ defence.

Creativity only gets you so far though, and what Braga have also shown is a strong ability to nullify their opponents; in their 1-0 win over Benfica, for example, the Portuguese champions had limited chances, and Braga rarely looked liked like conceding.

Against Porto in the cup final, it was perhaps a different story, that game could have gone either way, and Porto had some golden opportunities to take the lead, but again the grit of Braga led them to another 1-0 win. They defeated Sporting by the same scoreline.

Are Braga favourites? For the match, no, Rangers in Scotland have to be considered the more likely victors, but based on form, Braga are perhaps just about favourites to advance from the tie - though I suspect when this draw was made Rangers fans were pretty delighted, having avoided some of the European heavyweights in the draw. That said, Braga are Europa League perennials, and have proven over the years that they can compete at this level.

They are peaking at the right time too, and they will fancy their chances. It is a close one; there is no standout favourite, and that only makes things more interesting. What you can guarantee is that neither side are underestimating one another, whereas both sets of fans probably are to some extent, both likely not only hoping for, but expecting, victory over the two legs.

It makes for a fascinating clash, with whoever goes out perhaps seeing it as a real missed opportunity. Both sides did a magnificent job to get out of particularly tough Europa League groups, and it would be a shame for either side if their latest European adventure came to an abrupt halt at this stage.

Morelos. Photo author: Антон Зайцев. License link.