Freiburg – Braga

The rivals will again exchange goals in Germany.

A tense semifinal match took place a week ago in Portugal. Braga were motivated to win, as it immediately seemed obvious that in Germany they would face a tough battle, in which the Portuguese side would not be the favourite. Already in the eighth minute Braga's Turkish midfielder Demir Tyknaz scored a goal against Atubolu, but the Portuguese lead did not last ten minutes. The veteran Vincenzo Grifo, who had spent ten years with Freiburg, scored the reply. Braga had a chance to win the first half, but Rodrigo Salazar failed to convert the penalty. Some advantage for the home side in the second half did not translate into a goal, but in the final added minute the defenders and the goalkeeper of the German club gave Braga a real gift. The former allowed a shot on goal, and the latter parried the ball in front of him, which led to a precise finish by Mario Dorzhelesa — 2:1. Bookmakers put the Germans as favourites for the upcoming match, offering odds of 1.85 on their victory. Freiburg has lately pushed the Bundesliga to the background and focused on the Europa League. After April's streak of wins, Julian Schuster's team, in a hard-fought battle, lost to Stuttgart their chance to reach the final of the German Cup. Considering that this season Freiburg will not be able to reach European competition through the league, winning the Europa League is their last possible opportunity. Although, of course, in such conditions the aim will be to win Freiburg's first European title in the club's history. After the first leg in Portugal, Schuster's team in the Bundesliga drew with the highly motivated Wolfsburg. Braga, with a similar 1-1 scoreline, drew with Estoril. The team again finishes fourth in the championship, nothing initially prevented them from focusing their preparations for the trip to Freiburg. The goal is to reach the second European final of the Europa League. Braga lost the first leg to Porto fifteen years ago in Dublin. On the one hand, the hosts are undisputed favourites for the return leg, on the other hand, the guests' strong attack will surely find at least one goal. Let's bet that both teams will score.