Braga v Konyaspor background
Wednesday, October 26, 2016
Article summary
Braga can potentially end Konyaspor's hopes of reaching the round of 32 on matchday four as the bottom two in UEFA Europa League Group H reconvene in Portugal.
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Article body
Braga and Konyaspor have yet to win a Group H game, and things are starting to look desperate for the Turkish side, who will be eliminated if they lose and Gent beat Shakhtar.
Previous meetings
• Deni Milošević scored Konyaspor's first European goal but Braga struck back to draw 1-1 when the teams met for the first time in UEFA competition on matchday three; it was Konyaspor's first experience of Portuguese opposition.
• Braga's nine matches against Turkish clubs have ended W5 D1 L3 (W2 L2 in Portugal).
Form guide
• Two goals have been scored in each of Braga's Group H games – two 1-1 draws and a 2-0 loss to Shakhtar.
• Runners-up in 2011, Braga have made it through all five of their preceding UEFA Cup and UEFA Europa League campaigns.
• Sassuolo and Konyaspor are the only sides in the 2016/17 group stage who are in their debut European seasons.
Links and trivia
• The journey from Konya to Braga is around 3,500km.
• Konyaspor's Ibrahim Sissoko and Braga's André Pinto were team-mates at Panathinaikos in 2012/13.
The coaches
• José Peseiro returned for a second stint as Braga coach this summer, following a brief tenure at Porto. A lower-league forward, he was Carlos Queiroz's assistant at Real Madrid and later occupied the helms of Sporting, Panathinaikos and Rapid Bucureşti among other postings.
• A striker celebrated for his chest-and-volley goals for Fenerbahçe, Aykut Kocaman started his second spell as Konyaspor coach in 2014. He was in charge at Fenerbahçe from 2010–13, lifting a league title and two Turkish Cups.