Braga looks to gatecrash Europa League final line-up

PARIS - Sporting Braga has no European pedigree as such but on Thursday the minnow from Portugal is hoping to set that right by reaching the Europa League final by defeating Portuguese giant and two-time European Cup winner Benfica as it bids to overturn a 2-1 deficit in the second leg.

Should it succeed in doing so it will ruin the script for the final in terms of what the neutral observer would like to see in Dublin on May 18 - a clash between last season's Portuguese champion Benfica and its bitter rival and the team which ran away with the title this season, Porto.

Porto looks all but assured of booking its ticket for Dublin as it goes to Villarreal in Spain with a 5-1 lead from the first leg, and having not lost a match in a major competition this season it would be a huge surprise were Villarreal to deny it.