Played
December 5, 2012 7:45 PM GMT
Estádio AXA — Braga
Referee: N. Rizzoli
Attendance: 8964
December 5, 2012 7:45 PM GMT
Estádio AXA — Braga
Referee: N. Rizzoli
Attendance: 8964
Braga - Galatasaray Preview: Terim's men look to seal qualification
The Turkish giants are one last push away from confirming their place in the knock-out phase of the Champions League and must see off their eliminated hosts to complete the job
By Alec Fenn
gettyimages.com
| PROBABLE LINEUPS |
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BRAGA
Beto Salino, Echiejile, Coelho, Ismaily Micael, Custodio, Viana Alan, Eder, Amorim |
GALATASARAY
Muslera Eboue, Semih, Nounkeu, Riera Hamit, Selcuk, Melo, Amrabat Elmander, Burak |
Were it not for Galatasaray's dismal away record in the Champions League then punters would be queuing up to tick an away win on their betting slips ahead of Wednesday night's game.
The Turkish giants need only to match Cluj's result against Manchester United to seal their place in the knockout phase of the competition, but just one away win in the competition in a decade - against the Romanian club on matchday four - leaves lingering doubts.
Their task should be made a little easier, however, with Braga already eliminated and likely rotate at least a few of their first choice players. Centre-back Douglao misses out through suspension, while the visitors' only notable absentee is defender Tomas Ujfalusi, who was left out of their Champions League squad as a result of a knee ligament injury.
| DID YOU KNOW? |
- Galatasaray striker Burak Yilmaz is the competition's joint top scorer with five goals. Only Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo and Braga striker Alan have as many.

- Burak became only the second Turkish player to score a hat-trick in the Champions League with his treble on matchday 4. Tuncay Sanli was the first, with his treble against Manchester United back in 2004.
- Fernando Muslera, Danny Nounkeu and Selcuk Inan have played every minute of Gala's Champions League campaign.
- Felipe Melo (pictured, right) was sent off on Friday in Galatasaray's 1-1 draw with Gaziantepspor.
- Braga lost 2-0 to Cluj on matchday one despite having 35 shots on goal - 23 of which were on target.
- Seven Braga players - a club record - featured in Portugal's friendly against Gabon in November.
- The Portuguese club have won just once against Turkish opposition at home - a 3-0 second-leg triumph over Sivasspor in the 2008 Intertoto Cup.
Field Report
Reader's Predictions
Top 3 Predictions
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Sporting Braga 1-2 Galatasaray
- 19.06 %
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Sporting Braga 0-2 Galatasaray
- 14.72 %
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Sporting Braga 0-1 Galatasaray
- 11.37 %
| UEFA Champions League (UCL) | Dec 5, 2012 | Sporting Braga 1 - Galatasaray 2 | |
| UEFA Champions League (UCL) | Oct 2, 2012 | Galatasaray 0 - Sporting Braga 2 |
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| May 19, 2013 | Vitoria Setubal 0 - Sporting Braga 1 | POR1 |
| May 11, 2013 | Sporting Braga 1 - CD Nacional 3 | POR1 |
| May 3, 2013 | Moreirense FC 2 - Sporting Braga 3 | POR1 |
| Apr 26, 2013 | G D Estoril Praia 2 - Sporting Braga 1 | POR1 |
| Apr 19, 2013 | Sporting Braga 1 - Academica Coimba 0 | POR1 |
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| May 18, 2013 | Galatasaray 2 - Trabzonspor AŞ 0 | TUR1 |
| May 12, 2013 | Fenerbahce 2 - Galatasaray 1 | TUR1 |
| May 5, 2013 | Galatasaray 4 - Sivasspor 2 | TUR1 |
| Apr 28, 2013 | Gaziantepspor 0 - Galatasaray 1 | TUR1 |
| Apr 19, 2013 | Galatasaray 3 - Sanica Boru Elazığspor 1 | TUR1 |
| 1 | Quim | Goalkeeper |
| 4 | Nuno Coelho | Defender |
| 20 | Uwa Elderson Echiejile | Defender |
| - | Ismaily | Defender |
| 26 | Paulo Vinícius de Souza Nascimento | Defender |
| 15 | Ruben Amorim | Midfielder |
| 8 | Marcio Mossoro | Goalkeeper |
| 25 | Leandro Salino | Midfielder |
| 27 | Custodio | Midfielder |
| 17 | Éder | Striker |
| 30 | Alan | Striker |
| - | Beto | Goalkeeper |
| 15 | Baiano | Defender |
| 48 | Aníbal Capela | Defender |
| 45 | Hugo Viana | Midfielder |
| 9 | Rocha Paulo Cesar | Striker |
| 10 | Hélder Barbosa | Striker |
| 83 | CARLAO | Striker |
| 25 | F. Muslera | Goalkeeper |
| 13 | Dany Nounkeu | Defender |
| 26 | Semih Kaya | Defender |
| 27 | Emmanuel Eboue | Defender |
| 4 | Hamit Altintop | Midfielder |
| 8 | Selçuk İnan | Midfielder |
| 10 | Felipe Melo | Midfielder |
| 11 | Albert Riera | Midfielder |
| 52 | Emre Çolak | Midfielder |
| 9 | Johan Elmander | Striker |
| 17 | Burak Yılmaz | Striker |
| 86 | Ufuk Ceylan | Goalkeeper |
| 3 | Cris | Defender |
| 22 | Hakan Balta | Defender |
| 7 | Aydın Yılmaz | Midfielder |
| 35 | Yekta Kurtuluş | Midfielder |
| 19 | Umut Bulut | Striker |
| 53 | Nordin Amrabat | Striker |
| Alan | |
| Position: | Striker |
| Squad Number: | 30 |
| Games | Goals | YC | RC |
|---|---|---|---|
| 8 | 5 | 1 | 0 |
The 33-year-old striker has been a revelation in front of goal and is the competition's joint top goalscorer alongside stellar names Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi and Galatasaray's Burak Yilmaz. With Braga already eliminated, he will want to end his European campaign on a high.
| Burak Yılmaz | |
| Position: | Striker |
| Squad Number: | 17 |
| Games | Goals | YC | RC |
|---|---|---|---|
| 9 | 8 | 3 | 0 |
Three of the striker's five goals in the competition came in the victory over Cluj in Romania, an effort that highlighted his threat in front of goal. He will hope to be equally prolific on Wednesday night in a bid to shake off his side's travel sickness and seal Galatasaray's place in the knock-out phase.
Galatasaray's away record in Europe is poor, and with no pressure on Braga to get a result they could cause the visitors a few problems. Nerves could play a part, but a draw and the same result between Manchester United and Cluj will be enough to see Fatih Terim's side through.
Match News
Top Scorers
| Player | Goals | Penalties | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
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Cristiano Ronaldo Striker Real Madrid |
12 | 0 |
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Robert Lewandowski Striker Dortmund |
10 | 1 |
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Thomas Müller Striker Bayern |
8 | 1 |
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Lionel Messi Striker Barcelona |
8 | 0 |
|
|
Burak Yılmaz Striker Galatasaray |
8 | 0 |
