Roma vs. Braga | Europa League | League Stage | Pre Match

Both clinging on to a Europa League playoff place with three games remaining, Roma and Braga will battle it out for maximum points on Thursday.

The teams convene at Stadio Olimpico having won just three times between them so far, and the Giallorossi trail their Portuguese counterparts in the table.

Giving them a two-point buffer to the elimination places, Roma salvaged a late draw from their most recent Europa League outing, twice fighting back from behind to hold Tottenham Hotspur to a 2-2 draw in London.

Two centre-backs saved the day for new coach Claudio Ranieri on his return to England, as Evan Ndicka scored the first leveller and Mats Hummels made up for conceding an early penalty by squaring things up in second-half stoppage time.

Having featured in the latter stages of UEFA competition for each of the last three seasons, Roma's meagre tally of six points still leaves them well short of expectations, and they would require a playoff to reach the last 16 as things stand.

Amid chaos off the pitch, the capital club have struggled in Serie A, too, finally ending a run of four straight domestic defeats by beating Lecce 4-1 on Saturday evening.

They had lost six of their previous seven league games heading into their weekend fixture, but three second-half strikes ultimately secured the first victory of Ranieri's third spell in charge.

Staying at Stadio Olimpico for Thursday's continental contest, Roma can lean on a fine home record in the Europa League: they have won eight of their last 10 group or league matches as hosts, losing just one of the last 20.

Precedent is certainly not on Braga's side, then, as the Portuguese side have also lost both of their two prior meetings with Roma: 2-0 away and 3-1 at home in the 2020-21 Europa League.

However, they did surpass the Giallorossi in this season's standings by beating Hoffenheim last month, taking them up to 18th place with a total of seven points so far.

Bruma, Roger Fernandes and Vitor Carvalho all found the net in a vital home win that kept Os Arsenalistas in the mix for a cherished top-eight finish, which would secure automatic entry to the last 16.

Head coach Carlos Carvalhal then led his side to victory over AVS in the Primeira Liga, but Bruma's brace was only good enough for a draw against Estoril on Friday, when Braga let a two-goal lead slip through their fingers.

Now trailing Portugal's top four by three points, the 2011 Europa League finalists must switch focus back to Europe's second-tier competition, in which they will wrap up their league-phase campaign by hosting Roma's arch-rivals Lazio early next year.