Portuguese third-tier outfit Amarante face arguably the toughest challenge in the Taca de Portugal fourth round as they journey to the Estadio Jose Alvalade to take on Sporting Lisbon on Friday.
Playing their first game since Ruben Amorim's switch to Manchester United, the Leoes will look to secure a 14th straight home win across all competitions and kick off the Joao Pereira era on a high.
Match preview
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Amorim signed off his four-year stint at the helm of affairs with an impressive victory as Sporting Lisbon overturned a two-goal deficit to brush aside Braga in their final outing before the international break on November 10.
A first-half brace from Ricardo Horta put Braga in the driver's seat heading at the Estadio Braga Municipal but goals from Hidemasa Morita, Morten Hjulmand and a brace from Conrad Harder saw the visitors turn the game on its head in style.
With the result over Braga, Sporting Lisbon have now picked up eight wins on the bounce, including an emphatic 4-1 victory over English champions Manchester City in the Champions League, where they sit second in the standings and are one of just six sides yet to suffer defeat in the campaign.
The Leoes, who hold a six-point lead at the top of the Primeira Liga standings, now turn their focus to the Taca de Portugal, where they kicked off their quest for an 18th title with a nervy 2-1 victory over Portimonense on October 18 courtesy of goals in either half from 19-year-old Harder.
Sporting Lisbon head into the fourth round unbeaten in 17 back-to-back matches across all competitions, picking up 16 wins and one draw since August's 4-3 extra-time defeat against rivals Porto in the Super Cup.
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Amarante, on the other hand, lost their lead at the top of the Liga 3 Group A standings in their final game before the international break as they fell to a 1-0 defeat against 10-man Trofense.
Ghanaian forward Eric Ayiah had an eventful outing at the Estadio do Clube Desportivo Trofense as he gave Trofense a first-half lead before receiving his marching orders in the 62nd minute, but the hosts held their own to see out their fourth win of the campaign.
Prior to that, Amarante were on a run of two back-to-back victories, seeing off 10-man Vilaverdense 1-0 at the Estadio Municipal de Amarante on October 27, five days before beating Sanjoanense by the same scoreline thanks to a 94th-minute own goal from Rui Bruno.
Despite their recent struggle for consistency, head coach Alvaro Madureira will take pride in his side's start to the campaign as they have picked up seven wins and one draw from 11 league matches to sit second in the standings, one point off first-placed Fafe.
Amarante have enjoyed a solid campaign in the Taca de Portugal, where they have stormed into the fourth round, seeing off Fafe, Electrico and Lajense while scoring an impressive 12 goals and conceding twice in their opening three games.
However, next up is the daunting challenge of taking on Portuguese champions Sporting Lisbon, who have won each of their last 13 home games in all competitions, stretching back to a 1-1 draw against Atalanta BC in the Europa League in March.
Team News
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Following Amorim's departure, Joao Pereira has been named as the new Sporting Lisbon head coach and the former Portugal international will look to hit the ground running at the helm of affairs.
The 40-year-old will be unable to name experienced midfielder Nuno Santos, who has missed each of the last four matches since coming off with a ligament injury against Famalicao on October 26.
Pedro Goncalves was forced off injured in the first half against Braga last time out and the 26-year-old, who has four goals and four assists in eight league matches this season, is a doubt for Friday's clash.
Swedish forward Viktor Gyokeres continued his red-hot form during the international break as he racked up six goal contributions across the games, including four goals in the 6-0 victory over Azerbaijan on November 19, and the 26-year-old will be one to keep an eye on.
As for Amarante, we expect Madureira to name his strongest possible XI for Friday's crunch tie, with Obama Ribeiro, Daniel Alves, Diogo Vila and Joao Filipe forming the back four once again and Diogo Figueiredo starting in goal once again.
Faissal Zangre, Bright Osuoha Godwin and former Vizela man Francis Okoli should team up at the centre of the park once again while we expect a front three of Buby Katty, Dinho and 30-year-old Ka Semedo.
Sporting Lisbon possible starting lineup:
Israel; Debast, Diomande, Reis; Quenda, Hjulmand, Braganca, Araujo; Trincao, Harder, Catamo
Amarante possible starting lineup:
Figueiredo; Ribeiro, Alves, Vila, Filipe; Zangre, Godwin, Okoli; Katty, Dinho, Katty
We say: Sporting Lisbon 5-0 Amarante
While Amarante have breezed through the opening three rounds, they have been handed arguably the toughest challenge in the fourth round and will look to show their mettle against the best side in the country. However, given the gulf in quality and depth between the two sides, we are backing Sporting Lisbon to run riot at the Estadio Jose Alvalade on Friday.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Joshua Ojele
