Braga host Panathinaikos in the first leg of their UEFA Champions League playoffs on Wednesday night at the Estadio Municipal. Having progressed to the final round of Champions League qualifying in differing circumstances, Braga and Panathinaikos commence their two-legged playoff battle tonight. The hosts are coming off a 4-2 win at Chaves in the Portuguese Primeira Liga. Late goals from Simon Banza and Pizzi helped the Archbishops claim maximum points. Braga booked their spot at this stage with a 7-1 aggregate win over Serbian side TSC in the third qualifying round. A 3-0 home win was followed up by a 4-1 win in Backa Topola. On the other hand, Panathinaikos saw off Marseille on penalties following a 3-3 aggregate stalemate. They claimed a hard-fought 1-0 win in Greece but were on the cusp of elimination, having failed by two goals in the second leg in France. However, a last-gasp penalty was awarded in the ninth minute of injury time, and Fotis Ioannidis held his nerve to half the deficit and draw the tie level. Extra time could not separate both sides before the Greek club progressed with a 5-3 win in the shootout. The winner of this tie will book their spot in the UEFA Champions League group stage, while the loser drops down to the UEFA Europa League. I am expecting a win for Braga for the following reasons:

Firstly. Braga are currently on a good form, and have been a formidable side as of recent. Even though they finished the job of progressing to the final qualifying round of the Champions League already after the first leg with a 3-0 victory, Braga did not want to stop and added four more pieces in the second leg, while conceding only a goal. Braga have previous record when it comes to Champions League qualifying playoff round battles, as their only two group-stage appearances in 2010-11 and 2012-13 were achieved via the preliminary stages, overcoming Sevilla and Udinese respectively at the final hurdle. With their potent attack, they have a better chance of making it through to the group stages.

Secondly. Panathinaikos are yet to kick off their quest for domestic glory and have thus been able to focus solely on their continental endeavours. The Athenian side last made appearance in the Champions league group phase in 2010/11. They have since experienced four eliminations in a row in the qualifiers. They have put out Dnipro-1 and Marseille to get this far and they stand on the verge of a return to the Champions League group stage. However, they just do not have a good away record against strong teams in the Champions league. They are winless in 11 of them, while recording eight losses out of the 11.

Braga had a more straightforward route to the playoffs than Panathinaikos. Their comfortable first-leg win at home in the last round set the tone for their qualification, so they will look to replicate that. The hosts' mettle will be put to the test far more than it was against Backa Topola, but their superior quality and attacking firepower will likely be too hot for Panathinaikos to handle. Braga should be coming away from this encounter with a lead ahead of the next week's return leg in Greece.

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周三晚上，布拉加主场迎战帕纳辛纳科斯，他们将在市政体育场进行欧冠联赛季后赛首回合的比赛。在不同的情况下晋级欧冠资格赛最后一轮后，布拉加和帕纳辛奈科斯今晚开始了他们的两回合季后赛之战。东道主在葡萄牙甲级联赛中以4-2战胜查韦斯。班扎和皮齐最后时刻的进球帮助大主教队拿到了最高分。布拉加在预选赛第三轮以总比分7-1战胜塞尔维亚球队TSC，锁定了出线资格。在主场3-0大胜之后，在托波拉以4-1大胜。另一方面，帕纳辛奈科斯在3比3的平局中点球罚下马赛。他们在希腊以1-0艰难取胜，但在与法国的次回合比赛中连丢两球，险些被淘汰出局。然而，在伤停补时第9分钟，一个最后时刻的点球被判，福蒂斯·约阿尼迪斯(Fotis Ioannidis)鼓起勇气将比分扳平。加时赛无法将双方分开，最终希腊俱乐部在点球大战中以5-3获胜。本场比赛的胜者将获得欧冠小组赛的入场券，而败者则只能参加欧联杯。我希望布拉加能赢，原因如下:

首先。布拉加目前的状态很好，最近一直是一支强大的球队。尽管在首回合比赛后，布拉加已经以3-0的比分晋级了欧冠资格赛的最后一轮，但布拉加并不想就此止步，在次回合比赛中又添了4个球，只丢了一个球。布拉加在欧冠资格赛附加赛中有过记录，他们在2010-11赛季和2012-13赛季仅有的两次小组赛都是通过预赛阶段完成的，分别在最后的障碍中战胜了塞维利亚和乌迪内斯。凭借他们强大的进攻，他们有更大的机会进入小组赛。

其次。帕纳辛纳科斯还没有开始追求国内的荣誉，因此能够专注于他们在大陆的努力。雅典球队上一次出现在欧冠小组赛是在2010/11赛季。自那以后，他们在预选赛中连续四次被淘汰。他们已经击败了第聂伯-1和马赛才走到这一步，他们站在重返欧冠小组赛的边缘。然而，他们在欧冠对阵强队的客场战绩并不好。在11场比赛中，他们有11场没有获胜，其中8场失利。

布拉加比帕纳辛奈科斯有一条更直接的季后赛之路。他们在上一轮主场首回合的轻松胜利为出线奠定了基调，所以他们希望能复制这一点。东道主的勇气将受到比对阵托波拉更大的考验，但他们优越的质量和进攻火力可能对帕纳辛奈科斯来说太热了。布拉加应该能在下周的希腊之旅中领先。

08月24日布拉加 VS 帕纳辛纳比赛分析直播