Overview
Freiburg was very close to a favorable result in the first leg when maintaining a 1-1 balance after Vincenzo Grifo's equalizer in the 16th minute, responding to Demir Ege Tiknaz's early opening goal on Braga's side.
The German team even had a great opportunity to leave the field with a valuable draw when goalkeeper Noah Atubolu excellently saved Rodrigo Zalazar's penalty right before halftime. However, Freiburg's all efforts finally collapsed in injury time, when Mario Dorgeles scored the decisive goal to bring a breathtaking victory for Braga.
That defeat marked Freiburg's third consecutive defeat in all competitions. Previously, Julian Schuster's team was bitterly eliminated by Stuttgart after extra time at the DFB-Pokal and continued to receive an easy defeat against Dortmund in the Bundesliga.
However, Freiburg managed to stop the disappointing series of matches last weekend. Philipp Lienhart's late equalizer helped them hold Wolfsburg 1-1, thereby temporarily rising to seventh place in the Bundesliga standings.
However, the opportunity to squeeze into the top 6 is almost gone, meaning that the only way for Freiburg to participate in the European arena next season is to win the Europa League. That will be a great motivation for the Bundesliga representative to play all-in in the second leg.
Freiburg's biggest foothold lies at their home stadium Europa-Park Stadion. The Breisgau team has won 10 consecutive home matches in the European arena, scoring 28 goals and conceding only four times in that impressive series of matches.
On Braga's side, the Portuguese team is still close to a European cup spot next season when they are fourth in Primeira Liga and creating a 5-point gap with the chasing group in the context that there are only two rounds left in the season.
Last weekend, Braga drew 1-1 against Estoril Praia in a match where Mario Dorgeles continued to shine with the opening goal in the 23rd minute. However, Yanis Begraoui's late equalizer made Carlos Vicens's team continue to reveal instability in recent times.
However, Braga's overall form is still enough to bring confidence before the away trip to Germany. The Primeira Liga representative has only lost one of their last 9 matches in all competitions, while maintaining a very impressive record in the Europa League with only two defeats in the last 20 matches.
Personnel situation
Freiburg continued to receive additional personnel losses after the draw with Wolfsburg last weekend, when Yuito Suzuki was forced to leave the field in the final minutes due to injury. Subsequent test results confirmed that the Japanese striker broke his collarbone and will definitely be absent from the important second leg match against Braga.
This is a significant loss for Julian Schuster's team in the context that they need more attacking options to find a comeback in the Europa League.
On Braga's side, the Portuguese representative also encountered significant personnel problems. Captain Ricardo Horta was injured in the first leg and is likely to continue to be absent after being unable to play in last weekend's match.
Expected lineup:
Atubolu, Treu, Ginter, Lienhart, Makengo, Eggestein, Manzambi, Beste, Philipp, Grifo, Matanovic.
Hornicek, Lagerbielke, V. Carvalho, Moscardo, Dorgeles, Gorby, Tiknaz, Lelo, P. Victor, Zalazar, Navarro.
The match between Freiburg and Braga takes place at 2:00 AM on May 8 (Vietnam time).
