Benficavs.Braga

Braga stunned Benfica to win 2-1 here in the league on Saturday, ending the host's 100% home record domestically this season, and they will now turn their attention to defending the cup they won last season.

Match preview

In a stacked semi-final lineup involving Portugal's four most powerful clubs, it really is all to play for, with Braga's title on the line this season.

Psychologically, the visitors may have the edge, after a 2-1 success at this venue over the weekend, with Benfica losing after winning all eight of their home league games this season going into the weekend.

Bruno Lage's side found themselves 2-0 down at the interval, and Arthur Cabral's late strike was not enough to spark a comeback, meaning Benfica missed the chance to go level on points with Sporting Lisbon at the top.

To put that result behind them, Lage will hope he can steer the seven-time winners to another final, and ultimately end the nine-year wait for success in this competition.

Benfica often like to go on winning sprees in this competition, winning all four editions between 2009 and 2012, and claiming three in a row from 2014 to 2016, but they have only reached the final once since, losing to rivals Sporting in 2022.

The Eagles have suffered three group-stage exits in that time, but a change in format this season has reduced the Taca da Liga to an eight-team competition, and they got past Santa Clara in the quarter-finals.

It was at this stage where Benfica lost last season though, being stunned on penalties by Estoril, who would eventually go on to be beaten in the final by upcoming opponents Braga in the final.

Braga have never won a Portuguese title, but they have reserved plenty of success for the domestic cup competitions in recent years.

Since the inception of the Taca da Liga in 2007, Braga have won it on three occasions, with last year's success adding to the two they managed by beating Porto in both 2013 and 2020.

Much focus will now be on the cup competitions, because despite winning here at the weekend, Braga are down in fourth, a long way adrift of the top three.

Carlos Carvalhal's side are strong travellers though, and will feel as though they can cause another upset, given that they have won six straight domestic away games.

In what is a busy January for Braga, this will be the first of six games over the next three weeks across four different competitions, with both domestic cups and the Europa League still on the table.

Benfica Taca da Liga form:

W

Benfica form (all competitions):

D

D

W

W

L

L

Braga Taca da Liga form:

W

Braga form (all competitions):

D

L

D

W

L

W

Team News

Tiago Gouveia is the only current absentee for Benfica, but some rotation is likely from Lage, given that they are well in the title race, and have two huge Champions League games to come very soon.

Lage did name a relatively strong team in the last round against Santa Clara though, with Orkun Kokcu, Angel Di Maria and Vangelis Pavlidis the only regular starters to get a rest, and even then, they were all still brought off the bench.

Cabral has put forward his claim for a start over Pavlidis in attack though, following his goal against Braga at the weekend, which ultimately counted for nothing.

Braga are facing a crisis in defence, after Sikou Niakate was forced off inside half an hour at the weekend, while Paulo Oliveira and Yuri Ribeiro both missed the match entirely.

Therefore, Robson Bambu may be forced to step up to the plate again, after scoring his first ever goal in professional football at the age of 27 in that 2-1 win at the weekend.

Compared to Benfica, there was slightly more rotation from Carvalhal in their quarter-final, but with a title challenge out of the equation, the visitors could go very strong here.

Benfica possible starting lineup:

Trubin; Bah, Tiago Araujo, Otamendi, Fernandez; Barreiro, Renato Sanches, Aursnes; Beste, Arthur Cabral, Akturkoglu

Braga possible starting lineup:

Matheus; Victor Gomez, Robson Bambu, Paulo Oliveira, Marin; Vitor Carvalho, Joao Moutinho, Zalazar; Ricardo Horta, El Ouazzani, Bruma

We say: Benfica 2-1 Braga

While Braga stunned the Estadio da Luz at the weekend, it is unlikely lightning will strike twice, despite their very fine away form of late.

Written by

Andrew Delaney

Previews by email