Ferencvaros vs Sporting Braga Prediction: Horta to feast in Hungary

Robbie Keane’s Ferencvaros battled back from a 2-1 first-leg loss in Bulgaria to overcome Ludogorets 3-2 on aggregate in their Uefa Europa League knockout phase play-off tie last month. The reward for the reigning Hungarian league champions is a last-16 tie with Sporting Braga, the Portuguese outfit who finished sixth in the league phase, two points and six places above their hosts at Groupama Arena this Thursday (20:00 GMT, TNT Sports 5).

Below are my Ferencvaros vs Sporting Braga predictions, alongside all the latest team news and match odds, ahead of this first-leg encounter in Budapest.

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Team News

Stefan Gartenmann and Bence Otvos (both unspecified) are set to miss out for Ferencvaros on Thursday due to injury.

Football Odds

Sporting Braga, meanwhile, are likely to be shorn of the services of Amine El Ouazzani (foot), Sikou Niakate (muscle), Vitor Carvalho (unspecified) and Adrian Barisic (adductor), who are all suffering ailments.

Former Manchester City assistant head coach Carlos Vicens will also have to make do without Victor Gomez, who is serving a suspension for an accumulation of yellow cards in the competition.

Ferencvaros vs Sporting Braga Odds

Ferencvaros are 15/8, or a 34.8% chance, to claim a first-leg victory, with Sporting Braga priced at 13/10, implying a 43.5% probability of success, with the draw offered at 23/10.

Price Boosts - Ricardo Horta (BRA) To Score & Assist @ 16/1 20/1

It's a long shot, as indicated by the odds, but considering Braga forward Ricardo Horta has achieved this feat three times in his previous eight appearances, I think it's worth a dabble.

The 31-year-old scored and registered an assist in Braga's 5-0 Liga Portugal thrashing of Alverca on January 25, and eight days later, in a 4-0 win at AFS, he provided two assists after opening the scoring in the seventh minute.

Horta scored and assisted in the same game for a third time this calendar year in Braga's 3-2 victory over Guimaraes on February 21.

Today's Football Fixtures

The 12-cap Portugal international, who last played for his country in 2024, scored his side's first equaliser in their 2-2 draw with Sporting last Saturday, taking his season account to 17 goals, supplemented by nine assists.

In the Europa League, he has scored once and registered four assists across 13 appearances.

Bet Builder - Over 0.5 Goals & Gustaf Lagerbielke Carded (BRA) @ 11/4

Braga defender Gustaf Lagerbielke has received nine yellow cards and one red in 40 appearances for the club since joining from Scottish giants Celtic last summer.

The 25-year-old has picked up two of his cautions in the Europa League, although one was awarded to him in the qualifying rounds; his only league-phase booking came in the dying embers of his side’s 4-3 home defeat to Genk on November 11.

Lagerbielke is averaging a foul per 90 minutes in this season’s Europa League, making 12 fouls across 13 appearances.

The Sweden international has been even more aggressive in Braga’s domestic league, averaging 1.9 fouls per 90, and in Saturday’s 2-2 draw with Sporting CP, he committed two offences and was booked in the 61st minute.

On Thursday, the former Celtic centre-back could be in close proximity to Ferencvaros forward Bamidele Yusuf, who has drawn the second-most fouls (10) in their squad, just behind midfielder Gabi Kanichowsky (11), at an average of 1.4 per 90.

Fenerbahce centre-backs Milan Skriniar and Yigit Efe Demir were both booked for upending Yusuf in their 1-1 league-phase draw on November 27, while in the Nigerian’s latest outing, last Sunday’s 3-1 league win at Nyiregyhaza, he was fouled four times, with central defender Attila Temesvari and central midfielder Yuriy Toma both shown a yellow for unfair challenges on the 25-year-old.

Fellow forward Lenny Joseph has only started twice in this season’s Europa League, but the Frenchman has also proven to be a tricky man to defend against, averaging 1.4 fouls per 90, and in Ferencvaros’ 2-1 victory over Rangers on December 11, he was sent on in the 74th minute, drawing a yellow-card foul from centre-back Nasser Djiga just five minutes later.

Thursday’s hosts have a couple of foul-magnets in the forward line, and Lagerbielke, on the right-hand side of a back three, could be left exposed in Budapest, which may bring about a booking for the Swede.

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