Real Madrid vs FC Braga
Braga + 1.5 +135 (play to +115)
The Portuguese club FC Braga travels to Spain for a mid-week match with Real Madrid at the Bernabeu, and despite what the first part of this sentence might have the casual soccer fan thinking, I’m going to be backing the road dogs in this one. For whatever reason Madrid has had a propensity to lose one match against a far inferior side once a year on route to them eventually winning the trophy, and this one has all the makings of one of those matches.
Even though the concern around Bellingham’s availability for the match has subsided, having been ruled available for today’s match, there is still reason for concern surrounding this Madrid squad. Primarily the lack of press from Madrid gives me concern. Braga is fairly adept at creating against passive defenses, and despite not being a pressing team, Madrid’s defense hasn’t exactly been without its flaws.
Lastly, I fully expect a different tactical plan from Braga this match than we saw last time out from Carlos Carvalhal’s side. In Portugal, having conceded a goal within the first 5 minutes, Carvalhal chose to push his back-line high up the pitch to pressurize Madrid in hopes of creating attack chances. As one would expect, this was not the most effective choice, as both Vinny Jr and Rodrigo were able to take advantage of the space behind the high line of Braga. I’d be rather surprised if that tactic is repeated in Spain, and if it’s not, I find it hard to imagine Madrid can score the 3 goals I think it’ll take to win this match. After all, Braga did win the xG battle last time out.
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coochievsbookie.substack.com
Braga + 1.5 +135 (play to +115)
The Portuguese club FC Braga travels to Spain for a mid-week match with Real Madrid at the Bernabeu, and despite what the first part of this sentence might have the casual soccer fan thinking, I’m going to be backing the road dogs in this one. For whatever reason Madrid has had a propensity to lose one match against a far inferior side once a year on route to them eventually winning the trophy, and this one has all the makings of one of those matches.
Even though the concern around Bellingham’s availability for the match has subsided, having been ruled available for today’s match, there is still reason for concern surrounding this Madrid squad. Primarily the lack of press from Madrid gives me concern. Braga is fairly adept at creating against passive defenses, and despite not being a pressing team, Madrid’s defense hasn’t exactly been without its flaws.
Lastly, I fully expect a different tactical plan from Braga this match than we saw last time out from Carlos Carvalhal’s side. In Portugal, having conceded a goal within the first 5 minutes, Carvalhal chose to push his back-line high up the pitch to pressurize Madrid in hopes of creating attack chances. As one would expect, this was not the most effective choice, as both Vinny Jr and Rodrigo were able to take advantage of the space behind the high line of Braga. I’d be rather surprised if that tactic is repeated in Spain, and if it’s not, I find it hard to imagine Madrid can score the 3 goals I think it’ll take to win this match. After all, Braga did win the xG battle last time out.
If you care to read the rest of my writeups for today's UCL matches, you can subscribe to my daily newsletter!
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