Braga eye another English scalp as United visit

SC Braga host Group H rivals Manchester United FC for the first time with a recent record against English clubs that suggests they will not be overawed by their famous visitors.

• José Peseiro's side let slip an early two-goal lead to go down 3-2 at Old Trafford last time out but have won their last four home meetings with English opposition, although their previous display at the Estádio Municipal de Braga in Europe this season was a 2-0 loss against CFR 1907 Cluj in September.

Match background
• Braga did not concede a goal in posting victories over Birmingham City FC (1-0), Liverpool FC (1-0), Arsenal FC (2-0) and Portsmouth FC (3-0) during the past five years.

• The victory over Arsenal, courtesy of two Matheus strikes, came in the 2010/11 UEFA Champions League and featured Alan, Leandro Salino and Hugo Viana. Braga had gone down 6-0 away to the Gunners on their group stage debut two months earlier. Alan, Viana, Hélder Barbosa, Paulo César and Mossoró and Barbosa all played in what remains Braga's joint heaviest European defeat, matching a 6-0 reverse at Tottenham Hotspur FC in the 1984/85 UEFA Cup first round.

• Alan converted the penalty that secured Braga's 1-0 aggregate victory over Liverpool in the 2010/11 UEFA Europa League round of 16 and also scored against Portsmouth in the 2008/09 UEFA Cup group stage.

• Braga's first meeting with English opponents brought home and away losses in the 1978/79 UEFA Cup second round to a West Bromwich Albion FC side managed by future United boss Ron Atkinson and including United ambassador Bryan Robson.

• United's record in Portugal is W5 D2 L4. They are unbeaten in four visits dating back to December 2005 and a 2-1 loss at SL Benfica.

• In last season's group stage, Sir Alex Ferguson's men drew 1-1 at Benfica and were held 2-2 at Old Trafford. The Lisbon club – for whom Rúben Amorim played in both games – won the group with United third.

• United won the first of their three European Cups by beating Benfica 4-1 in the 1968 final at Wembley.

Team ties
• Peseiro's Sporting Clube de Portugal eliminated Middlesbrough FC and Newcastle United FC en route to the 2004/05 UEFA Cup final. Peseiro served as assistant to Sir Alex's former No2 Carlos Queiroz at Real Madrid CF in 2003/04.

• Jonny Evans' Northern Ireland drew 1-1 in Portugal in a 2014 FIFA World Cup qualifier on 16 October. Rúben Micael and substitutes Amorim and Éder played for Portugal, as did Nani, with Beto and Custódio unused replacements.

• Nani made his senior debut under Peseiro at Sporting in a UEFA Champions League qualifier against Udinese Calcio in August 2005. He appeared three times as a substitute prior to the coach's dismissal in October 2005.

• Nani played alongside substitute Custódio as Sporting beat Amorim's CF Os Belenenses 1-0 in the 2007 Portuguese Cup final. Nani scored the only goal when Sporting won 1-0 at Braga in April 2007.

• Nani was replaced by Amorim after being ruled out of Portugal's 2010 World Cup squad with a collarbone injury.

• Custódio was in the Portugal side whose 2-1 group victory eliminated Robin van Persie's Netherlands from UEFA EURO 2012.

• Anderson spent two seasons with Porto (2005–07), collecting a league championship medal in 2006/07. He played alongside Alan in both campaigns and briefly with Barbosa in 2005/06.

• While at Newcastle (2002–04), Viana featured as a substitute in two home games against United, losing 6-2 in April 2003 and 2-1 that September. Paul Scholes scored a hat-trick in the first match and the winner in the second.

• Viana also came on as Portugal beat the red-carded Wayne Rooney and Rio Ferdinand's England on penalties in the 2006 World Cup quarter-finals, despite Viana's own missed spot kick.

• Quim was in the Benfica team beaten 3-1 at Old Trafford in the 2006/07 group stage, with Nemanja Vidić and Ryan Giggs both scoring. The previous season, despite conceding a goal to Scholes, he helped Benfica to a 2-1 home win that eliminated United from the group stage.