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Portuguese domestic football resumes with another high-profile fixture as Porto and Benfica square off in the quarter-finals of the Taca de Portugal on Thursday.
This will be the first Taca de Portugal meeting between the two sides since August 2020, when Porto claimed a 2-1 victory away from home.
Porto maintained their fine string of performances as they comfortably saw off 10-man Vizela 4-0 at the Estadio do FC Vizela.
Sergio Conceicao’s side, who are currently first in the Primeira Liga table, have now won each of their last three games on the trot, scoring six goals and conceding none in that time.
They now head to the Taca de Portugal, where they claimed a 5-0 win over Sintrense in their opening game before beating Feirense 5-1 in round 4.
Meanwhile, Benfica claimed a 2-1 extra-time win over Trofense in their cup opener, before securing a more assured 4-1 win over Pacos de Ferreira in their subsequent outing.
Jorge Jesus’ side head into Thursday’s game in sky-high spirits, having claimed a thumping 7-1 victory over Maritimo last time out.
Benfica have now won each of their last four games on the bounce and will be aiming to keep the juggernaut rolling in the cup competition.
Porto vs Benfica Head-To-Head
With 28 wins from the last 58 meetings between the teams, Porto boast a superior record in the history of this fixture. Benfica have picked up 14 wins in that time, while 16 games have ended all square.
Porto Form Guide: W-L-W-W-W
Benfica Form Guide: L-W-W-W-W
Porto vs Benfica Team News
Porto
The Dragons will remain without the services of Spanish defender Ivan Marcano, who has been out of action since sustaining a leg injury back in October.
Injured: Ivan Marcano
Suspended: None
Benfica
Lucas Verissimo, Nemanja Radonjic and Rodrigo Pinho are all recuperating and will sit out Thursday’s crunch tie. Gilberto is also a doubt after he was hooked off with a slight injury in the game against Maritimo last time out.
Injured: Lucas Verissimo, Nemanja Radonjic, Rodrigo Pinho
Doubtful: Gilberto
Suspended: None
Porto vs Benfica Predicted XI
Porto Predicted XI (4-2-3-1): Diogo Costa; Zaid Sanusi, Chancel Mbemba, Pepe, Joao Mario; Mateus Uribe, Sergio Oliveira; Otavio, Luis Diaz, Jesus Corona; Mehdi Taremi
Benfica Predicted XI (3-4-3): Odisseas Vlachodimos; Jan Vertonghen, Nicolas Otamendi, Andre Almeida; Alejandro Grimaldo, Julian Weigl, Pizzi, Joao Mario; Roman Yaremchuk, Darwin Nunez, Rafa Silva
Porto vs Benfica Prediction
Thursday’s game sees two of the best sides in the Portuguese top flight go head to head and that makes for an exciting contest.
We predict a high-scoring affair with the hosts claiming all three points thanks to a narrow scoreline.
Prediction: Porto 3-2 Benfica
