Team news and predicted lineups

Here is our preview of Thursday’s UEFA Europa League clash between Braga and Hoffenheim, including our predicted lineups.

Hoffenheim got off to a good start under new coach Christian Ilzer at the weekend, beating RB Leipzig 4-3 in his first game in charge.

The Sinsheim side fell behind three times, but showed a strong mentality to fight back and win the game.

Now they’ll be looking to build on that win in the Europa League, where they have five points from four games – one more than Braga, who they face in Portugal on Thursday.

Although their Europa League campaign hasn’t been particularly impressive, Braga can take heart from the fact that they have lost just one of their last six games in all competitions.

The Portuguese side will be the betting favorites going into Thursday’s match, with Hoffenheim having failed to win in their last seven away games, drawing four and losing three.

Braga’s only confirmed absentee is Rodrigo Zalazar.

Hoffenheim, on the other hand, have a long list of injuries, to which Marius Bülter and Florian Grillitsch have recently been added.

Christopher Lenz, Ozan Kabak, Grischa Prömel, Finn Ole Becker, Ihlas Bebou and Max Moerstedt remain sidelined for the Bundesliga outfit.

Ilzer is expected to field a largely unchanged team. Jacob Bruun Larsen is in with a good chance of replacing the injured Bülter after scoring and assisting as a substitute against Leipzig.

Click here to see our predicted Braga vs. Hoffenheim lineups.