Celtic vs SC Braga

This is the fifth time in the last six seasons that Celtic have failed to win both of their first two games of a major European campaign, also losing their first home game in each of those seasons (beat Slovan Bratislava in 2024-25).  

Sporting Braga have won each of their last seven matches in Europe (including qualification), their joint-best winning run in such competitions alongside July/October 2008, when win number seven also came against a British opponent (Portsmouth in the UEFA Cup).

Celtic have lost 12 of their 29 home games in the UEFA Europa League (since 2009-10, W13 D4), with only Ludogorets Razgrad (17), Qarabag (15) and Rosenborg (13) losing more times at home in the competition.

This will be the third European match between Celtic and Braga, after the Portuguese side eliminated the Hoops during a UEFA Champions League qualifier in 2010-11 (4-2 on aggregate).

Braga have played Scottish opposition four times previously in the UEFA Europa League, losing three times to and beating Rangers once between 2020 and 2022.

Celtic have lost just one of their last eight home games in all European competition (W4 D3), a 1-2 defeat to Bayern Munich in last season’s UEFA Champions League.

Braga have failed to win any of their last four away UEFA Europa League games (D1 L3), conceding nine goals in total during that time.  

After his goal against Crvena Zvezda, Kelechi Iheanacho could become the seventh player to score in both of his first two major European competition appearances for Celtic, and first since both Andreas Thom and Simon Donnelly did so in September 1995 in the Cup Winners’ Cup.