Much at stake as Braga welcome Wolfsburg

SC Braga and VfL Wolfsburg have good reason to believe that a win on Matchday 3 could earn them a place in the UEFA Cup Round of 32 as the home side look end a poor record against German opponents.

• Braga lost 1-0 to AC Milan on Matchday 2 to end a run of seven straight victories without conceding a goal since they started their 2008/09 European campaign in the third round of the UEFA Intertoto Cup.

• Jorge Jesus's side won their opening Group E fixture 3-0 at home against Portsmouth FC, and while victory against Wolfsburg would guarantee nothing, only once in the four-year history of the UEFA Cup group stage has a total of six points not been enough to qualify, with Rangers FC missing out in 2004/05.

• Wolfsburg were not in action on Matchday 1 but made up for lost time by overwhelming SC Heerenveen 5-1 in their first Group E fixture. Like Braga, they would be guaranteed nothing if they won in Portugal, but could be reasonably certain of progressing.

• This is Braga and Wolfsburg's first meeting in UEFA club competition.

• Braga have previously played five games against German opposition, but have yet to win, earning two draws and three defeats. Two of those draws and one defeat came on Portuguese soil.

• Braga played both FC Bayern München and Werder Bremen in last season's UEFA Cup, drawing 1-1 at home against Bayern in the group stage before losing 4-0 on aggregate to Bremen in the Round of 32.

• Wolfsburg have never encountered Portuguese opposition in their previous European campaigns.

• Braga coach Jesus came up against Wolfsburg's Bundesliga rivals Bayern in the 2007/08 UEFA Cup during his time as CF Os Belenenses coach with the Lisbon side losing 3-0 on aggregate against Ottmar Hitzfeld's team, going down 1-0 in Germany and 2-0 in Portugal.

• Wolfsburg coach Felix Magath faced Portuguese opposition during his time in charge of Bayern, winning 1-0 at Sporting Clube de Portugal in the 2006/07 UEFA Champions League group stage and drawing the return fixture 0-0.

• Wolfsburg's Swiss goalkeeper Diego Benaglio know plenty about Portuguese football, having spent two and a half seasons in Madeira with CD Nacional prior to joining Wolfsburg in January 2008.

• Team-mate Ricardo Costa is even better informed. The Portuguese defender was at FC Porto until 2007, where he played alongside Braga players Evaldo, César Peixoto, Alan, Jorginho and Renteria.

• This will be Braga's sixth home game in the UEFA Cup group stage. Their previous five home fixtures at this stage of the competition have produced four wins and a draw.

• Braga's home record is an impressive one. In 26 games in UEFA club competition, they have lost just four times at home, scoring 54 goals and conceding just 15.

• Wolfsburg drew 1-1 in their only previous UEFA Cup away game this season, their first round fixture at FC Rapid Bucureşti, and remain unbeaten so far in their campaign.

• The German side have, however, never won a UEFA Cup away game in four attempts since their debut in the competition in 1999/00.

• Wolfsburg's Makoto Hasebe is within a booking of a one-match suspension.

• Portsmouth face Milan in Matchday 3's other Group E tie. Heerenveen are the only side in the section not in action.