Fresh off beating Benfica in the quarterfinals of the Portuguese Cup, Braga returns their focus to the Portuguese League where they are fazed with the prospect of finishing in the top two for the first time since the 2009/10 season. The Minho Warriors can pick up a second straight league win when they face Maritimo at the Estadio dos Barreiros.

Braga beat Benfica for the second time this season to progress to the semi finals of the Taca de Portugal. Their first victory over the league leaders was a 3-0 win in the league. The Minho Warriors have competed fairly with Benfica and Porto in the league this season, last year the point gap after the first half of the season was more than 15 points but only 10 points separates Benfica and Braga in the league with Braga playing one game less.

Artur Jorge's team has as many wins in the league this season as second placed Porto and only three wins less than league leaders Benfica. They have been consistent in both domestic and European competitions and they are in the knockout stages of the Europa Conference League. Braga had a fairly easy win last time out in the league against a team tougher than Maritimo. They thrashed Famalicao 4-1 at home to record back to back home wins in the league.

Jose Gomes is under fire at the club with the team dropping down the pecking order. Maritimo is only four points away from the bottom spot and has won just three times in nineteen league games. Their 1-0 win against Sporting CP at the beginning of the year looked like a turning point for the hosts but they have won only three points out of a possible 12 points in the next four games.

Two defeats in a row for Maritimo puts the hosts under pressure in this game and with their performances this season, getting anything from this game would be very difficult for Maritimo. Braga loves to play free flowing football with goals on both ends. Maritimo finds it very difficult to score more than one goal in a game and they have not scored more than a goal in each of their last thirteen games.