Real Madrid vs Sporting Braga Prediction: Narrow win for Los Blancos?

Real Madrid beat Braga 2-1 in Portugal a fortnight ago, and now the two teams meet again, this time in the Spanish capital. Below we’ve previewed the Champions League clash and given two selections for this match.

Team News

Carlo Ancelotti has a whole host of injury issues. The biggest one on his mind will be star man Jude Bellingham, who had a shoulder issue during the first half of the draw with Rayo Vallecano. He completed the match, but may be given a rest here by his manager. 

Meanwhile, Eder Militao, Thibaut Courtois and Aurelien Tchouameni all have long-term injuries and will miss this one. Dani Ceballos could also be out with a muscle issue, although Ferland Mendy could return to compete with Fran Garcia for the left-back position. 

Meanwhile, Braga have the luxury of a fully fit squad, as they look to make history with a win at the Bernabeu. 

Match Odds

Real Madrid are just 1/5 to win this game on home soil, with Braga priced at 9/1 to take the three points. A draw is available at 5/1, over 2.5 goals is 1/3 and BTTS is 8/11. 

Real Madrid to win and under 3.5 goals @ 6/4

Now, Real Madrid are an incredibly short price to win this game, and I believe they will beat Braga. But we can extend the odds greatly with the smart pick of backing there to be fewer than 3.5 goals in the game. With Real Madrid’s superstars, you may question this selection, but they haven’t been tearing teams apart as you may expect this season. 

In fact, their last four outings have all seen fewer than 3.5 goals scored, and they failed to break down Rayo Vallecano at the weekend. In the reverse fixture against Braga, they secured a 2-1 win – a scoreline which would produce a winner here if it was replicated in the Spanish capital. 

We also have to take into consideration the potential absence of Jude Bellingham. The Englishman has scored a ridiculous 13 goals in 14 matches this season and his absence will impact Real Madrid’s ability to rack up a big scoreline. I think they will have enough to win the game, but it won’t be a big scoreline. 

Joselu to score first @ 4/1

If Bellingham is out, it is likely that Ancelotti will switch to a 4-3-3 system, with Joselu playing as a traditional number nine. With Rodrygo and Vinicius Jr on either wing, he should have plenty of chances to score against Braga and he’s actually been pretty decent in front of goal, scoring five goals so far. That may not seem like a huge number, but it is the same number as Vinicius Jr and Rodrygo have scored combined, and if Bellingham is out, it will fall to the former Stoke forward to score the goals.

The 4/1 on him to score first is well worth getting behind, as long as he is named in the starting XI. Keep this one in your pocket, and back it when the teams are announced.