Monaco vs Braga

A shocking 2-0 first-leg loss in Portugal gives Monaco a mountain to climb in the return leg of their Europa League last-16 contest against Braga at the Stade Louis II.

Things are not going Monaco’s way despite Philippe Clement’s arrival at the helm at the expense of Niko Kovac, as the Ligue 1 side won only once across their last seven competitive matches (D3, L3 – 90mins only). Unfortunately for the home support, Monaco cannot find comfort in their overall European record against Portuguese clubs, having only two of their ten such fixtures so far (D2, L6). Additionally, ‘Les Monégasques’ have gone from five successive competitive home triumphs to back-to-back games without winning (D1, L1), both of which saw them score under 1.5 goals. Topically, they have suffered a staggering eight defeats across their last 12 European matches on home turf (W3, D1), though two of those three successes arrived in this season’s Europa League group phase.

Meanwhile, Braga’s domestic wobble continued at the weekend as they fell to a 1-0 home loss to Gil Vicente, ending a run of five competitive games without defeat (W3, D2). There’s not much Braga can hope for here, having won just one of their last four away matches in all competitions (D1, L2). But the Primeira Liga side don’t need a win here to progress into the Europa League quarter-finals for the first time since 2015/16. The visitors should be relieved to know that, especially after drawing a blank in each of their three previous European visits to France (D1, L2). Furthermore, Carlos Carvalhal’s men have lost five of their last seven away fixtures in the Europa League proper (W2), while they’ve succumbed to reverses in all six previous away games in the competition’s knock-out stages.