Sporting Lisbon aim to secure their place in the Taca de Portugal quarter-finals when they host Tondela at the iconic Estadio Jose Alvalade on Tuesday night.
This will be the second encounter between the teams this season, following Sporting's 2-1 victory over the visitors in the Taca da Liga last month, which sent them into the semi-finals of that competition.
Match preview
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Sporting Lisbon advanced to this stage of the competition after a 3-1 win against CD Olivais e Moscavide in the third round and an 8-0 thrashing of Dumiense CJPII in the last round.
The Lions are only behind Benfica (26) and Porto (19) when it comes to success in Taca de Portugal, having won 17, the last of which was in 2019.
Ruben Amorim's side will enter this match off the back of a 5-1 Primeira Liga win over Estoril, which helped them remain at the top of the league with 40 points after 16 matches.
Sporting are having a great season so far, as they are also in the knockout stages of the Europa League, keeping them in contention for all trophies.
Historically, the home side have dominated this fixture, winning each of the last six matches against this opponent dating back to June 2020, and only conceding two goals in that time while scoring 14 in return.
The Lions will be bullish going into this match, not just because of their great record against the visitors, but their brilliant home form, which has seen them win their last nine matches at Estadio Jose Alvalade in all competitions.
In this competition, Tondela have already overcome Sporting de Pombal in round two and 1º Dezembro in round three before earning a resilient 4-2 win via penalties against Torreense in the fourth round to book this meeting with Sporting.
Toze Marreco's side have had good runs in cup competitions this season, but they have struggled to replicate their cup form in the league, where they are sat in seventh place and nine points behind the top three.
The Gold and Greens might harbour slim hopes amidst talk of Sporting rotations for this match, and an early goal from the visitors could spice things up in what will be their first-ever meeting against the home side in this competition.
Team News
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The hosts will be without several key players with Ivan Fresneda missing out with a shoulder injury and expected to remain sidelined until the end of January, while Jerry St Juste is doubtful due to a late fitness test.
Furthermore, Amorim will be missing Geny Catamo and Ousmane Diomande, who are both away with their national teams for the Africa Cup of Nations, while Hidemasa Morita is also unavailable, having joined the Japanese squad for the Asian Cup in Qatar.
Francisco Trincao and Paulinho are tipped to start in attack alongside Pedro Goncalves, with Goncalo Inacio, Eduardo Quaresma and Matheus Reis expected to form the back three.
Meanwhile, Iuri Miguel is set to miss a significant chunk of the season with a knee injury, which means Ricardo Silva is likely to retain his place in goal for the visitors.
Roberto Rodrigo, who scored a late equaliser against Nacional last weekend, should lead the line again alongside Rui Gomes.
Sporting Lisbon possible starting lineup:
Israel; Quaresma, Inacio, Reis; Esgaio, Hjulmand, Braganca, Santos; Trincao, Goncalves, Paulinho
Tondela possible starting lineup:
Silva; Bebeto, Alves, Ba, Barros; Costinha, Xaver, Clebinho; Farias, Gomes, Roberto
We say: Sporting Lisbon 3-1 Tondela
Momentum and pedigree favour Sporting, while Tondela brace for a last stand. We predict the underdogs' cup adventure ends at the Estadio Jose Alvalade. The hosts will have too much for the visitors to handle in this one.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
