Braga – Levski

The home team will win against Levski in the first half.

In the rivalry between Portuguese Braga and Bulgarian Levski, the favourite was apparent from the outset. For many years, the Iberian team has been challenging the trio of historical leaders in their league: Benfica, Sporting, and Porto. In one of the recent championships, Braga even managed to break into this illustrious trio earning the right to compete in the Champions League. Currently, Braga once again holds the status of the fourth team in the division, which has allowed them to begin their European cup journey in the second qualifying round of the Europa League. Levski, like any other Bulgarian team, has not been successful on the European stage for the past few decades. Despite Ludogorets' long-standing dominance in the Bulgarian league, Levski is the second club in the country in terms of titles, but not behind the team from Razgrad, rather behind their rivals from CSKA. The first match in the Portuguese-Bulgarian pairing took place a week ago in Sofia. Despite being the favourite, Braga failed to register a single shot on target in the first half, even while controlling the ball for twice as long as their opponent. The second half saw a few more moments and events on the pitch, but the fans at the Bulgarian stadium did not see any goals. The bookmakers made the home side the favourites for the return leg, offering odds of 1.22 for their victory. For Braga, the match in the capital of Bulgaria was their first of the current season. Before the start of the Europa League qualifiers, the Portuguese team had a good preparatory campaign, during which they achieved five commendable victories over fairly strong opponents. At their home ground, Braga will play in a dominant style, not postponing the resolution of the clash's outcome for later. Undoubtedly, the hosts are keen on the club participating in the group stage of the Europa League. Unlike their upcoming opponent, Levski has already begun their season on the national stage. Both of their matches concluded with victories for the Sofia team, but they faced a newly promoted team from the First League, Montana, and the eleventh-place team from last season, Septemvri. Teams of such a level do not exist even in the second division of Portuguese football. Let's wager that Braga will score the necessary goals for an overall victory in the first half of the return match.