Sporting Lisbon and Porto square off for the first time in 2025 when they go head to head at the Estadio Jose Alvalade for a place in the final of the Taca da Liga on Tuesday.
The most recent meeting between the two sides in the cup competition came in the final back in January 2023, with the Dragoes claiming a 2-0 victory courtesy of goals from Stephen Eustaquio and Ivan Marcano to clinch their first title.
Match preview
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Sporting Lisbon were denied a dream start to the new year as they could only salvage a 4-4 stalemate against Vitoria de Guimaraes after bottling a two-goal second-half lead at the Estadio Dom Afonso Henriques.
Vitor Gyokeres turned in a stellar individual display as he scored a hat-trick to put the visitors in a 3-1 lead heading into the final half hour, but Kaio Cesar, Joao Mendes and Dieu-Merci Michel all hit the target to turn the game on its head in dramatic fashion, before Francisco Trincao spared Sporting's blushes with a 95th-minute equaliser.
Prior to that, the Leoes secured a 1-0 victory in the Lisbon derby against rivals Benfica in their final outing of 2024 thanks to a first-half strike from 23-year-old midfielder Geny Catamo — a result which saw them move top of the Primeira Liga table.
Sporting Lisbon have picked up 13 wins from their 17 Primeira Liga matches while losing twice and claiming two draws to collect 41 points and lead the way in the standings, one point above Tuesday's visitors, who have one game in hand.
Rui Borges's men, who are unbeaten in their last five matches across all competitions since December's 2-1 loss at Club Brugge in the Champions League, now turn their focus to the Taca da Liga where they opened their campaign with a 3-1 victory over Nacional on October 29.
In that encounter, a second-half brace from Gyokeres and Morten Hjulmand's 53rd-minute strike saw Sporting Lisbon ease to a comfortable win at the Estadio Jose Alvalade, with Ruben Macedo getting on the scoresheet for Nacional in the 66th minute.
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Over in the North, Porto's clash against Nacional last Friday was postponed after 18 mins due to heavy fog at the Estadio da Madeira, with the rest of the match now scheduled to be replayed on January 15.
Vitor Bruno's side had picked up four wins from their previous four outings across all competitions, including December's 2-0 victory over Midtjylland in the Europa League, where they sit 18th in the standings with eight points from six matches.
Porto are also on a run of seven back-to-back matches without defeat, claiming five wins and two draws since a somewhat disappointing 2-1 defeat against Moreirense at the Parque de Jogos Comendador Joaquim de Almeida Freitas in round four of the Taca de Portugal on November 24.
The Dragao now turn their attention to the Taca da Liga, where they kicked off their quest for a second title on October 31, when they secured a 2-0 victory over Moreirense courtesy of a first-half own goal from Leonardo Buta and Eustaquio's 61st-minute strike.
While Porto now face the stern challenge of taking on their rivals Sporting Lisbon for a place in the final, they head into Tuesday's clash unbeaten in 15 of the last 20 clashes between the two teams, claiming 10 wins and five draws since August 2008.
Team News
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Sporting Lisbon remain without the services of key attacker Pedro Goncalves, who has been sidelined since picking up a muscle injury in the game against Braga back in November.
Fellow Portugal international Goncalo Inacio has also missed each of the last six matches through a muscle problem while midfielder Daniel Braganca has been ruled out through a calf injury.
Portuguese forward Nuno Santos also continued his long road to full fitness after suffering a severe knee injury back in October and the 29-year-old striker is also out of contention for this weekend's matchup.
With his brace against Guimaraes last time out, Gyokeres now has 48 goal contributions for club and country this season and the Sweden international will certainly be one to keep an eye on.
Porto, on the other hand, remain without the defensive duo of Wendell and 37-year-old Marcano, who have been sidelined through injury muscle and ACL injuries respectively.
They are joined on the Dragao injury table by 28-year-old midfielder Marko Grujic, who has been out of action since October after picking up a severe muscle problem.
Sporting Lisbon possible starting lineup:
Israel; Quaresma, Diomande, St. Juste, Matheus; Catamo, Morita, Hjulmand, Quenda; Trincao, Gyokeres
Porto possible starting lineup:
Costa; Fernandes, Perez, Otavio, Galeno; Eustaquio, Gonzalez; Franco, Mora, Pepe; Aghehowa
We say: Sporting Lisbon 2-1 Porto
Meetings between Sporting Lisbon and Porto have served up fireworks in the past and we anticipate another action-packed contest at the Estadio Jose Alvalade as both teams look to secure their spot in the final.
While Bruno's side have put together a run of four wins in their last five outings, home advantage gives Sporting a slight edge here, and 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
