A hotly contested Portuguese Cup round of 16 clash will take place on Wednesday between Benfica and Sporting Braga in Lus, a day after Porto continued their title defense at Estoril Praia Stadium.
Similar to what happened in the 2022/23 season, the Eagles and Minho Warriors will meet again in the Queen’s competition, but now in the round of 16 (the last time was in the quarterfinals). and at home at 8:45 p.m., after the Reds were eliminated at Minho on penalties.
The Lisbon side hold the record for the most Portuguese Cup trophies, with 26 in total, although the last one came in the 2016/17 season, resulting in a drought of six seasons without lifting the cup.
As for Sporting Braga, they played for Jamor last season but lost to Porto (2-0) in the eighth final.
The team, now led by Artur Jorge, has won the competition three times, most recently against Benfica in the 2020/21 season.
On Saturday, both teams ended the 16th round of the first league with different moods: Benfica won 3-0 in Arouca, consolidating second place in the first league, and Sporting Braga allowed themselves to draw at home with Vitoria de Guimarães. in Derby Minho at 90+8 minutes, failing to make it onto the podium.
Benfica are expected to be without the injured Bach, Bernat, David Neres and Tengstedt on Wednesday, while Sporting Braga will be without Banza, Ligue 1’s top scorer, and Niacate, who have already left for Canada.
19-time trophy winners Porto face Canarinhos, the 1943/44 Cup finalists, for the third time this season and, surprisingly, are still trying to come out on top having been on the mat twice.
First with a 1-0 score in the 10th round of the I League in Dragao, and then with a 3-1 score in Amoreira, the venue of Tuesday’s competition that required the removal of the “dragons” from the final four. ‘ League Cup.
Apart from centre-back Marcano, who has been out for several months, coach Sergio Conceicao will be without Iranian Taremi and Nigerian Zaidou for their teams as the team must travel to Lisbon to respond to the 1-1 draw in the Invicta derby against Boavista.
Sporting, whose museum houses 17 replicas of the Portuguese Cup, the latest of which dates back to the 2018/19 season, is the first of the big ones to take to the field and will have the most accessible task from the start as it hosts Alvalade , two hours before Estoril Praia, FC Porto, Tondela, from the II League, after the “defeat” of Dumiense from the Portuguese Championship with a score of 8-0 in the last round.
The side, coached by Championship leader Ruben Amorim and motivated by Friday’s 5-1 defeat to Estoril Praia, must present themselves as an ‘eleven’ made up of several lesser-used ‘faces’, with captain Coates looking eager for his return after four games on the road.
The absence of Diomande, Zhenya Katamo and Morita, three representing the national teams, as well as the injured Fresneda and Saint-Just, is obvious.
On the other hand, there will be the current seventh team of the second division, which came to Jamor two seasons ago, showing its best result in history, and already this year lost to the Lions (2-1). ), but for the League Cup.
In addition, Vitória de Guimarães, once winner and six-time runner-up, will host Penafiel from the second division for the final test of the 8th on Thursday at 20:15 with Visela. and Arouca will star in another duel between the first divisions on Wednesday at 20:00.
On Wednesday in Barcelos at 19:15, Gil Vicente, after a 1-0 defeat to Farense, hosts Amarante, the only representative of the fourth division, and among the teams of the II League, União de Leiria travels to Madeira to face Maritimo and Nacional travels to the Azores to discuss the next leg’s location with Santa Clara.
1/8 finals program:
– Tuesday, January 9:
Sporting (I) – Tondela (II), 18:45
Estoril Praia (I) — Porto (I), 20:45
– Wednesday, January 10:
Maritimo (II) — Unian Leiria (II), 18:45
Gil Vicente (I) — Amarante (CP), 19:15
Visela (I) — Arouca (I), 20:00
Benfica (I) — Sporting Braga (I), 20:45
– Thursday, January 11:
Santa Clara (II) — Nacional (II), 17:00 local time (18:00 Lisbon time)
Vitoria de Guimarães (I) — Penafiel (II), 20:15