Moreirense and Braga meet in their rescheduled Primeira Liga encounter this Saturday evening.

With the rest of the league off due to the international break, it gives the two clubs the opportunity to catch up on their game in hand.

Match preview

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The original date was postponed due to Braga commitments in Europe at the end of August, with the league giving them the week off to focus purely on their tie with Panathinaikos.

It worked a treat as Portugal will have three representatives in the Champions League group stages, after Braga won both legs to progress.

It is the club's first involvement in the group stage of UEFA's senior club competition since 2012-13, and just their third overall.

Braga have never made it past the groups though, and they are up against it again, coming in as the outsiders of a section which contains Real Madrid, Napoli and Union Berlin.

On the league front, focusing on their third qualifying round tie with TSC Backa Topola may have been costly for Braga, as despite dispatching the Serbian side easily, they were beaten at home by Famalicao in their league clash which fell in between the two legs.

Artur Jorge's men have recovered from that opening day disappointment though, beating Chaves on the road and holding Sporting Lisbon to a draw last weekend.

Winning their game in hand here would take them into the top six and safe in the knowledge that all the big guns have dropped points already too.

Second-tier champions Moreirense endured a poor start on their return to the top flight.

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Losing at home to Farense in the first round of the League Cup was an instant low point, and they also failed to score a goal in any of their three pre-season friendlies.

Rui Borges's men also made a losing start in the league, despite taking a shock lead against Porto.

In the final seven games of their title-winning campaign last season, Moreirense took 19 points and scored 25, while also conceding 13.

This time around though, it has been a much different story, as Moreirense's fixtures have been incredibly cagey so far.

A 0-0 draw, which saw them unable to breach a Famalicao side which played the entire second half with 10 men, provided more disappointment, but they finally found their first win last weekend.

Joao Camacho's late winner saw the newly-promoted side see off Chaves 2-1 away from home, meaning that, like Braga, they can also move sixth with a win here, with the two sides level on four points.

Team News

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With the game taking place peculiarly during the international break, Braga will be without a number of important first-team players for this one.

Their undisputed talisman Ricardo Horta is away with Portugal, while Abel Ruiz has earned a call-up to the Spanish senior squad, following his form at youth level.

Alvaro Djalo is set to come in up front and has had a fine start, finding the net three times despite starting only twice in all competitions this season.

Rodrigo Zalazar is also away with Uruguay, while full-back Serdar Saatci is on duty with Turkey's Under-21s.

Midfielder Al Musrati is the only injury concern coming into the clash for the visitors.

In contrast, Borges has a full Moreirense squad to choose from, with no injuries, suspensions or international call-ups.

Lawrence Ofori and Ponck were both snubbed once again by Ghana and Cape Verde respectively, so the manager could name an unchanged side following their win last week.

Moreirense possible starting lineup:
Kewin; Fabiano, Maracas, Marcelo, Frimpong; Goncalo Franco, Ofori, Alanzinho; Kodisang, Andre Luis, Joao Camacho

Braga possible starting lineup:
Matheus Lima; Gomez, Jose Fonte, Niakate, Marin; Andre Horta, Vitor Carvalho, Pizzi; Rony Lopes, Djalo, Bruma

We say: Moreirense 1-1 Braga

Braga are likely to suffer without their two key attacking outlets in Horta and Ruiz and may struggle against a Moreirense side who have not given up many goals so far this season.

The hosts still have a full complement of players and will fancy their chances of getting a result against a notably weakened Braga side.


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