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With Braga
not being one of the more dominant teams in Portugal, you
can only assess them by their position against the other top
sides. With Porto, Benfica and Sporting Lisbon
grabbing the top three places in the table, for Braga to
finish fourth, they are the best of the rest.
As far as how
that compares to other leagues, we have seen Porto beaten by
Arsenal and Chelsea, Benfica beaten by Celtic and Man U and
Sporting Lisbon have been defeated by English clubs in
the recent past. So, it may not be the toughest task,
especially as they are on a poor run in their own
league away from home, while they are unbeaten since October
in the league on their won turf.
BMJ has
looked at them and sees them as well organised and having a
flash of flair in midfield and up front through the
Brazilian stars they have. Manager Jorge Costa is well
aware of the strengths of the English game, having spent a
while with Charlton Athletic, so Diego, New, Wender and Ze
Roberto will be the players they look to for inspiration.
Spurs will
have a strong side out and with the need for away goals,
Dimitar Berbatov will be pivotal in our search for goals.
Robbie Keane will be available again, as will Didier Zokora
and his running from midfield will be useful with Jenas
being out injured. Should Spurs need an injection of
something different, we saw on Sunday that Adel Taarabt is
not short on confidence !! At the back, Spurs will not
be able to choose King or Rocha, leaving the options limited
to Gardner and Dawson, but they will be well supported by
Lee and Chimbonda.
It will take
a good performance against a side who have three seasons of
UEFA Cup football behind them. However, without
knowing a great deal about the Portuguese side, it is clear
that our European form is good and although we are facing
ever more experienced sides, the team will be boosted by
their recent run of results and feel that the games in the
UEFA Cup suit them, which is why I believe that Tottenham
will come home with something to defend in the second leg
...
PREDICTION
: - SC Braga 1 Tottenham Hotspur
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