Fresh off the back of clinching their first piece of silverware this season, Benfica journey to the Estadio de Sao Luis to face SC Farense in the fifth round of the Taca de Portugal on Tuesday.
As Aguias are the most decorated side in the history of the cup with 26 title triumphs, most recently in the 2016-17 campaign, while the home side's best-ever performance remains their runners-up finish back in 1990.
Match preview
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Farense turned in a defensive show of class in their first outing of the new year as they held their own to see out a goalless draw against Santa Clara at the Estadio de Sao Miguel two Sundays ago.
Despite Marcos Moreno picking up a red card right on the stroke of half time, Santa Clara were unable to make use of their numerical upper hand as they failed to break down a resolute Farense side despite having 17 shots at goal, 15 more than the visitors.
With that result, Toze Marreco's men have now gone three straight matches without defeat, picking up a 2-1 victory over Famalicao on December 21 before playing out consecutive stalemates versus Vitoria de Guimaraes and Santa Clara, and are unbeaten in seven of their last eight outings across all competitions.
Farense's only defeat across this 10-week period came on December 14, when they were beaten 1-0 by 10-man Gil Vicente at the Estadio de Sao Luis courtesy of a second-half own goal from Brazilian defender Lucas Africo.
While the Leoes de Faro have turned a corner in recent weeks, they remain bottom but one in the Primeira Liga standings, having picked up 14 points from their 17 matches so far, just two points above last-placed Boavista.
Farense will be looking to return to winning ways in the Taca de Portugal, where they secured a 4-2 win over third-tier Sanjoanense in their opening game on October 20, one month before first-half goals from Dario Poveda and Eleves Balde inspired them to a 2-1 victory over Arouca in the fourth round.
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Elsewhere, Benfica had to dig deep in another Lisbon derby classic as they secured a penalty-shootout defeat against rivals Sporting Lisbon in the Taca da Liga final at the Estadio Dr. Magalhaes Pessoa on Saturday.
After taking the lead through Andreas Schjelderup, Viktor Gyokeres netted two minutes shy of the half-time break to draw Sporting Lisbon level and ultimately force extra time, and with nothing to separate the two sides after 30 minutes, Benfica prevailed 7-6 in a nail-biting shootout.
Prior to that, Benfica suffered two back-to-back defeats in the Primeira Liga, losing 1-0 against Sporting Lisbon on December 29 and falling to a 2-1 home loss against Braga in their first outing of the new year, before stopping the rot with a 3-0 victory over Braga in the second of their two consecutive league-and-cup meetings on January 8.
Bruno Lage's men, who are third in the league table, now turn their focus to the Taca de Portugal, where they have cruised into the fifth round, picking up two wins from their opening two matches while scoring a staggering nine goals and keeping two clean sheets.
Benfica kicked off their quest for a record-extending 27th Taca de Portugal crown with a 2-0 victory over Campeonato de Portugal outfit Pevidem SC on October 19, five weeks before steamrolling Primeira Liga side Estrela Amadora 7-0 at the Estadio da Luz in the fourth round.
As Aguias now return to action in the cup against an opposing side who have lost each of their most recent three encounters and have failed to win any of their last seven, losing five and claiming two draws since October 2020.
Team News
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Farense will have to cope without the services of Spanish defender Moreno, who is set to serve a domestic suspension after picking up a red card against Santa Clara at the weekend.
In his absence, former Braga man Artur Jorge should come into the fold, forming the back three with Africo and Claudio Falcao, while 26-year-old Ricardo Velho should retain his role between the sticks.
Having started the cup opener against Braga on January 8, Schjelderup caught the eye once again with his standout display in Saturday's final triumph over Sporting and the 20-year-old could retain his role in the XI once again.
Should that be the case, he should team up with Vangelis Pavlidis and veteran forward Angel Di Maria at the attacking end of the pitch, while we expect a back four of Alexander Bah, Tomas Araujo, Nicolas Otamendi and Alvaro Carreras.
On the injury front, Sporting remain without 23-year-old forward Tiago Gouveia, who continues his lengthy spell on the sidelines after sustaining a shoulder injury in August's game against Estrela.
SC Farense possible starting lineup:
Velho; Africo, Falcao, Jorge; Pastor, Neto, Menino, Victor; Merghem, Tomane,Matias
Benfica possible starting lineup:
Trubin; Bah, Araujo, Otamendi, Carreras; Aursnes, Kokcu, Luis; Di Maria, Vangelis, Schjelderup
We say: SC Farense 0-3 Benfica
With the thrill from their Taca da Liga triumph still in the air, Benfica will head into this one with sky-high confidence as they look to continue their push for the cup double. Lage's men are on a dominant run against the hosts, and given the gulf in quality and experience between the two teams, we are backing them to come away with the desired result.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Joshua Ojele
