Rangers vs. Sporting Braga 4/14/22 UEFA Europa League Soccer Pick, Predictions, and Odds

Rangers is hosting Sporting Braga at Ibrox in the second leg of the UEFA Europa League quarterfinals. Rangers has been hot and cold as of late, they ended in second place behind Celtic, but they still need to play to qualify for the Champions League. Braga is one of the top 4 teams in Portugal, they are in good form right now, and they have won the first leg of this matchup.

Rangers has lost 3 of their last 5 games, but they did win in their latest game in the Scottish Premiership. As I’ve mentioned, Rangers has ended the regular season in 2^nd place with 76 points, which is disappointing because they were leading the league. Rangers’ defense has slipped up somewhere in the middle of the season, and they have conceded 8 goals more than Celtic has this season. in the first leg of this matchup, Rangers was solid, but the home-field advantage was crucial for Braga. Morelos is the leading goalscorer for the Rangers in the Europa League with 4 goals, but he is injured. Tavernier has added 4 goals as well. I think the Rangers is a good team that is still getting used to the new coach, and hopefully they will sort that out until the next season.

Braga is undefeated in their last 5 games, while they are on a 4-game winning streak at the moment. In their last 2 games, Braga has scored only 2 goals, but the good news is they have kept 2 clean sheets in those 2 games. In the Primeira Liga, Braga is now in 4^th place with 55 points, and that is the spot for them because Sporting, Benfica, and Porto are better than them. Braga was successful in the first leg, but they are on the road here, and it will be hard for them to get a positive result here. Galeno has 6 goals in 6 games for Braga in the Europa League, while Horta has added 4 goals. Sequeira, Fernandes, and Gorby are all injured. I think Sporting is a solid team, they are in good form, and they certainly have a chance to get to the semifinals, but I think they will need an outstanding defense here, and that is something that will be hard to do at Ibrox.

The first leg has ended in a 1-0 for Braga, but the Rangers has beaten Braga at home 2 years ago. Same as the first leg, this will be a tough game for both teams, I think it will be a pretty even matchup, but I think the Rangers will win in the 90 minutes.