The Braga coach has announced that this will be his last game in charge and, while he is not expected to be short of job offers for next season, it will be a huge feather in his cap if he can mastermind an upset.

However, his only chance of stifling a Porto side (4/9 Match Betting) that smashed 17 goals past Spartak Moscow and Villarreal in the quarter-final and semi-final ties, is to instruct his players to defend deep and hit the Portuguese champions on the counter-attack.

It is a tactic which Braga have utilised well in matches where they have been underdogs this season, notably in the Champions League play-off round against Sevilla at the Sanchez Pizjuan (4-3) and in the Group H home clash with Arsenal (2-0).

Paciencia’s approach to getting Braga through the knockout rounds was similar, although less spectacular, as the Minho men recorded narrow 2-1 and 1-0 aggregate victories over Lech Poznan and Liverpool to reach the last eight.

They then relied on the away goals rule to get past Dynamo Kiev (1-1) and Benfica (2-2), but that cannot come to their rescue in the winner takes all Dublin clash at the Aviva Stadium.

Paciencia cannot afford to let Porto’s pacy, creative players cause havoc by running at his back four and in order to shackle Hulk, Varela and Cristian Rodriguez he will deploy a 4-5-1 formation with Alan (11/1 First Goalscorer) or Lima (9/1) the likely lone frontman.

Braga fans have seen the goals dry up since Matheus, scorer of both goals against Arsenal, was sold to Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk in January.

They have managed to find the net only 20 times in 21 domestic league and Europa League matches since the start of February, while Porto by contrast have scored 55 in that same period  – Porto 11/10 in Handicap (-1).

While stopping the service to Colombian hitman Radomel Falcao (7/2 First Goalscorer) will be key, Braga must also maintain their discipline and defend any set pieces they will inevitably give away resolutely.

It is a lot to ask with the amount of attacking talent in the Porto ranks and, should they concede an early goal, it will need a Plan B from the coach to get back into the match.

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The Yellow Submarine are the odd ones out ahead of Thursday’s last-four encounters as they travel to Portugal to face an in-form Porto side at the same time Portuguese outfits Benfica and Braga do battle in their first-leg showdown.

Porto v Villarreal

Villarreal are desperate to end their ‘nearly’ tag after losing 1-0 on aggregate to La Liga rivals Valencia in the semi-finals of the 2004 UEFA Cup before Arsenal defeated them by the same score over two legs in the 2006 Champions League semis.

They will go into battle boosted by their 8-2 aggregate win against Dutch outfit of Twente Enschede in the quarter-finals.

However, Villarreal midfielder Bruno Soriano is under no illusions about the size of the task facing his side, claiming that Porto are clear favourites to progress (8/13 To Qualify).

And while he is happy with Villarreal’s attacking qualities, Soriano is looking for the backline to try and keep it tight so they have a chance on home soil in the second leg (Villarreal 7/2 To Keep A Clean Sheet).

He said: “We have to improve our defence to not concede as many goals. If we can do that, we will have taken a big step forward.”

Villarreal will fancy their chances of securing away goals with Italian forward Giuseppe Rossi (7/1 First Goalscorer) on 10 goals in the Europa League already this season, while Porto’s poor record of 11 wins in 34 attempts against Spanish opposition in Europe means the omens are against the Portuguese.

However, while Soriano’s claim that Porto are favourites could be a possible attempt at mind games, it is not without foundation.

Andre Villas-Boas’ team have enjoyed a storming season in which they have already wrapped up the Portuguese title in style, having won 25 and drawn two of their 27 matches so far, leaving them 19 points clear of Benfica.

Their form in the Europa League is just as prolific as they have secured 12 wins in 14 outings, including all seven away from home which is a warning to Villarreal ahead of the second leg.

They also have plenty of goals, having thrashed Spartak Moscow 10-3 on aggregate in their quarter-final clash, while they boast the competition’s top scorer with Colombian striker Radamel Falcao (5/1 Two or More Match Goalscorer) leading the way with 11.

It is a game that will no doubt contain plenty of goals (11/5 Four Or More Total Goals) and, despite the desperation of Villarreal, Porto should be able to take some kind of lead to El Madrigal for the second leg.

First-leg prediction: Porto To Win 90 Minutes @ 4/6

Value Bet: Porto To Win 3-1 Correct Score @ 11/1

Benfica v Braga

The all-Portuguese affair in the second semi-final on Thursday sees two sides looking to end otherwise disappointing campaigns on a high after dropping into the Europa League (Benfica 5/2, Braga 7/1 – Outright) from the Champions League and living in the shadow of Porto in domestic competitions.

Benfica, in particular, are smarting from the fact Porto wrapped up the Portuguese title courtesy of a 3-1 win against them in Lisbon, before then coming back from a two-goal first-leg deficit in the domestic Cup to dump them out on away goals last week.

They will have the scent of revenge in their nostrils if they can line up a final showdown with Porto next month and that should inspire them to get past Braga in the semi-finals (Benfica 2/5 To Qualify).

Braga will not be pushovers as they have already picked up some notable scalps in European competition this season, dumping Celtic out of the Champions League last July and defeating Arsenal in the group stages.

They saw off Liverpool 1-0 on aggregate in the Europa League round-of-16 before booking their semi-final place on away goals after a 1-1 aggregate draw with Dynamo Kiev.

While scoring goals is not Braga’s forte of late, they clearly know how to grind out a required result (4/1 To Keep A Clean Sheet) and will not roll over for their more illustrious Portuguese rivals.

First-leg prediction: Benfica To Win To Nil @ 13/10

Value Bet: Benfica To Win 1-0 Correct Score @ 11/2

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