Maritimo vs Braga
Portuguese Primeira Liga
Date: Monday, 11th December 2017
Kick-off at 19:00 UK/ 20:00 CET
Venue: Estadio dos Barreiros (Funchal).

The top four hopefuls Maritimo and Sporting Braga lock horns in a crucial league fixture on Monday night.

Maritimo made Estadio dos Barreiros a fortress and had become a daunting opponent for visiting teams. Their last league defeat has to be dated back to the beginning of last year when they lost back-to-back games. Since then, the likes of Porto, Benfica and Sporting CP had to leave Funchal without wins. While, their Monday’s guests Braga were beaten 1-0 in the corresponding fixture last season.

Maritimo’s unbeaten run at home in Portuguese Primeira Liga currently stay at 22 matches – 15 wins and 7 draws.

In the current campaign, Maritimo already held Benfica to a draw and bagged 5 wins and 2 draws from the 7 home games so far.

Braga are sitting at fourth in the table and have a four point cushion over their Monday’s hosts. They are on a steady form lately with 7 wins and 1 draw from the last 8.

Their away form isn’t bad either with 2 wins and a draw coming from the recent three. The draw came against Sporting CP and with the team involved in mid-week Europa League game, we remain to see if fitness issues dent their chances against a strong home side like Maritimo.

Maritimo vs Braga: Head-to-head

The corresponding fixture of last season was a 1-0 win for Maritimo, while the reverse leg ended all square with a 3-3 full-time score-line.

However, Braga won 3 of the last 5 meetings with Maritimo in all competitions, 1 draw and 1 loss.

Also, Braga’s overall record in away matches at Maritimo is a solid one – 6 wins in 9, lost 2 and drew 1.

Maritimo vs Braga: Prediction

We believe Maritimo are the team to back here with them boasting of a strong record at home and having the extra time to keep players fit. Meanwhile, Braga slip at time in away games and their involvement in midweek’s Europa League defeat away at Basaksehir could play a part in low level of performance here.

Maritimo vs Braga: Bet Tips

Maritimo to win @ 3.30 with Betfair.

Under 2.5 match goals @ 1.61 odd.