Europa League 2025-2026: Lincoln Red Imps-Braga, the likely lineups

Thursday, Aug. 21, the Estadio do Algarve is the setting for the Europa League playoff first leg between Lincoln Red Imps and Braga. The Gibraltar champions are chasing another historic feat, while the Portuguese are aiming hard for the group stage.

For the Lincoln Red Imps, this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity: after being eliminated in the Champions League preliminaries against Red Star, Juan Bezares’ team overcame Noah on penalties, securing at least a place in the Conference League. Now the dream is to raise the bar even higher and win the Europa League.

The Gibraltarians arrive on the strength of a positive domestic season (26 wins in 39 games) and a small winning streak in European home games (a win and a draw in the last two). Although with an obvious technical gap, they will focus on organization and spirit of sacrifice to make life difficult for their opponents.

Braga, led by Carlos Vicens, on the other hand, starts with much higher ambitions. After easily eliminating CFR Cluj (4-1 overall), the “Arcebispos” also showed solidity and brilliance in the league, beating Alverca 3-0. The recent roster speaks of four wins in the last six official outings, confirming an excellent state of form.

With an established European tradition, the Portuguese want to push themselves as far as possible in this edition. The only danger could be overconfidence, but the quality of the squad seems to offer guarantees of superiority.

Probable lineups

Lincoln Red Imps (4-3-3): Santana; Sergeant, Chipolina, Walker, Annesley; Ronan, Hernandez, Munoz; Juanje, De Barr, Kike.

Braga (4-3-3): Hornicek; Lelo, Oliveira, Lagerbielke, Gomez; Zalazar, Gorby, Carvalho; Horta, Pau Victor, Dorgeles.