Braga vs Rangers match facts

The only two surviving group runners-up meet in the quarter-finals of the 2021/22 UEFA Europa League as Braga and Rangers recreate a round of 32 tie from two seasons ago.

• Braga completed a hat-trick of UEFA Europa League group stage qualifications by picking up ten points in Group F and finishing second to Crvena zvezda. They then overcame Moldovan champions Sheriff 3-2 on penalties in February after both teams had won their home leg 2-0 before coming out on top in the round of 16 against Group B winners Monaco (2-0 h, 1-1 a), Spanish striker Abel Ruiz finding the net in both legs.

• Rangers clinched a UEFA Europa League knockout phase berth with a game to spare, finishing runners-up to Lyon in Group A with eight points, before overcoming Borussia Dortmund 6-4 on aggregate in the knockout round play-offs (4-2 a, 2-2 h) and Crvena zvezda 4-2 over the two legs in the round of 16 (3-0 h, 1-2 a).

Previous meetings
• This is the only one of the four UEFA Europa League quarter-final ties in which the teams have previously met, Braga and Rangers having been paired together once before, in the 2019/20 round of 32. The Scottish side prevailed in both matches, coming from behind to win 3-2 in Glasgow before a Ryan Kent goal in northern Portugal was enough to bring them a 1-0 win that secured their further progress.

• That second leg was Braga's first home defeat by Scottish visitors, their two previous matches having brought a 2-2 draw against Hearts in the 2004/05 UEFA Cup first round (3-5 on aggregate) and a 3-0 win against Celtic en route to a 4-2 aggregate success in the 2010/11 UEFA Champions League third qualifying round.

• Rangers are unbeaten in their last 13 UEFA matches against Portuguese opposition (W6 D7), drawing the two most recent against Benfica (3-3 a, 2-2 h) in last season's UEFA Europa League group stage. Although they lost their first three matches in Portugal, they are unbeaten on their last six visits (W2 D4). The Glasgow giants have lost only one of their seven previous two-legged UEFA ties against Portuguese teams, winning the last five.

Form guide
Braga
• Braga's 2021/22 UEFA Europa League group stage berth, and the club's 17th European qualification in the last 18 years, was achieved on two fronts – with a fourth-placed finish in the Portuguese Liga and a third Portuguese Cup triumph, which they secured with a 2-0 victory over Benfica in the final. Carlos Carvalhal's side also reached last season's UEFA Europa League round of 32, where they lost 5-1 on aggregate to Roma.

• Runners-up to Leicester City in last season's group stage, Braga also had to settle for second place this term, a 1-1 home draw against Crvena zvezda on Matchday 6 leaving them as runners-up in Group F behind the Serbian champions, who had defeated them 2-1 in Belgrade on Matchday 1. Six of Braga's ten points came at the expense of Ludogorets (1-0 a, 4-2), while they took three off Midtjylland (3-1 h, 2-3 a) to finish one ahead of the Danish side.

• The wins against Sheriff and Monaco have taken Braga into the UEFA Europa League quarter-finals for the third time. Winners on away goals against domestic rivals Benfica in 2010/11 (1-2 a, 1-0 h), they lost both games to Shakhtar Donetsk in 2015/16 (1-2 h, 0-4 a). Those are the Portuguese club's only two previous quarter-finals in any European competition.

• Braga's record at home in the UEFA Europa League knockout phase is W7 D2 L4, the recent 2-0 wins against Sheriff and Monaco coming after successive defeats by Rangers and Roma (0-2).

Rangers
• Undefeated champions of Scotland in 2020/21 as they claimed a record-extending 55th domestic league title, Rangers also played 13 matches in the UEFA Europa League, progressing from the second qualifying round to the round of 16, where their run was ended by Slavia Praha (1-1 a, 0-2 h).

• Rangers returned to the UEFA Champions League for the first time in a decade this term, but they lost both third qualifying round legs 2-1 to Malmö and therefore transferred to the UEFA Europa League play-offs, where they edged Alashkert to reach the group stage for the fourth successive season. Although they lost their opening two group games – against Lyon (0-2 h) and Sparta Praha (0-1 a) – they remained unbeaten thereafter, taking four points off Brøndby (2-0 h, 1-1 a) and clinching second place with a 2-0 victory over Sparta at Ibrox on Matchday 5 in their first match under new manager Giovanni van Bronckhorst, who had replaced Steven Gerrard.

• This is Rangers' first appearance in the UEFA Europa League quarter-finals, the victory over Crvena zvezda having come after three previous round of 16 failures. In UEFA competition overall this is the Glasgow club's tenth quarter-final, with five aggregate victories in the previous nine, the latest in the 2007/08 UEFA Cup when they overcame Portuguese opposition in the form of Sporting CP, drawing 0-0 at Ibrox before winning 2-0 in Lisbon.

• Having gone through their 2020/21 European campaign without a single defeat outside Glasgow (W5 D2), Rangers failed to record a win on their continental travels this term (D3 L2) until their 4-2 victory in Dortmund. The subsequent defeat by Crvena zvezda in Belgrade puts their away record in the UEFA Europa League knockout phase at W3 D3 L2.

Links and trivia
• Braga are the only one of this season's eight UEFA Europa League quarter-finalists to have reached the final of the competition – in 2010/11.

• Rangers are the first Scottish club to appear in the UEFA Europa League quarter-finals, making Scotland the 17th country represented at this stage of the competition.

• This is Rangers' 15th European encounter of the season – the most of any of the UEFA Europa League quarter-finalists. They are the only team among the last eight whose 2021/22 European campaign began in the qualifying phase.

• Rangers striker Alfredo Morelos's goal in the first leg against Crvena zvezda was his 32nd in the UEFA Europa League, qualifying included, putting him third alone in the all-time scoring list for the UEFA Europa League and UEFA Cup combined – behind only Henrik Larsson (40 goals) and Klaas-Jan Huntelaar (34). Three of the Colombian striker's European goals have been scored against Portuguese opposition.

• In appearing for Braga in the first leg of the knockout round play-off against Sheriff, Roger Fernandes became, at the age of 16 years 88 days, the youngest ever UEFA Europa League participant, group stage to final.

• Braga are one of two current domestic cup winners in the UEFA Europa League quarter-finals, along with Barcelona.

• The clubs experienced contrasting fortunes in domestic competition last weekend, Braga winning 3-2 at home to UEFA Champions League quarter-finalists Benfica on Friday evening and Rangers losing 1-2 at Ibrox against Celtic on Sunday afternoon to fall six points behind their arch rivals at the top of the Scottish Premiership.

• The winners of this tie will face Leipzig or Atalanta in the semi-final.