The 18th edition of the League Cup, which revises a format played only in the 2020/21 season due to the COVID-19 pandemic, will be played between this Tuesday and Saturday in Leiria. The perennial contenders for national titles – Sporting, FC Porto, Benfica and SC Braga – are all ready to face each other.
The Dr. Magalhães Pessoa Municipal Stadium in Leiria will once again host the ‘Final Four’ of the League Cup, a tournament played this year in unusual circumstances due to the busy sporting calendar.
Unlike previous editions – except for 2020/2021 due to the pandemic – this season, the League Cup was only contested by eight clubs, six from the Primeira Liga (the first six classified from last year ) and two from the second tier, who were promoted to the main division last season.
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To reach the final stage of the competition, teams had to play in the quarter-finals in October.
Sporting defeated the national champions (3-1), FC Porto triumphed over Moreirense (2-0), Benfica dominated Santa Clara (3-0), and SC Braga held on against rivals Vitória SC ( 2-1).
Unsurprisingly, the four icons who have dominated Portuguese football have secured their passage to the ‘Final Four’. This week, they look to add a new title to their respective showcases.
Following FC Porto’s dramatic victory (4-3) at the Supertaça Cândido Oliveira in Aveiro at the start of the season, and Sporting’s home victory (2-0) in the Primeira Liga in August 2024, the rivals will now face each other for a place in the League Cup final this Tuesday, from 7:45 p.m.
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This match will be broadcast live on CIS.
-The semi-final between Sporting and FC Porto is reminiscent of the final of the 2022/23 edition, which saw FC Porto claim their only victory over the Lisbon side in the competition in six encounters, with goals from Stephen Eustáquio and Ivan Marcano.
Before that, four of the five matches had favored the ‘green and whites’, two of which were decided on penalties, as well as a 0-0 draw in the group stage match of the 2013/14 season.
This will also be the fourth semi-final between Sporting and FC Porto, with the current national champions having a perfect record against them. The last clash at this stage was in the 2021/22 season during the ‘Final Four’ return for FC Porto, after they missed this stage while defending their only trophy won.
The other semi-final, scheduled for Wednesday at 7:45 p.m., will see defending champions SC Braga take on Benfica, who hold the record with seven titles.
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This fifth meeting between the teams is reminiscent of their match last Saturday on Matchday 17 of the Primeira Liga in Lisbon, where the hosts were beaten 2-1, putting them three points behind leaders Sporting and two behind FC Porto, who has one game less.
In the three semi-finals between SC Braga and Benfica, the Minho club have progressed twice, the last being a regulation time victory in the 2020/21 season, while Benfica were victorious in the edition 2015/16 in normal time. Benfica would lift the trophy that season, their last, with a 6–2 victory over Marítimo.
The other meeting between the two clubs took place during the 2017/18 group stage in Lisbon, ending in a 1-1 draw.
Since the start of the competition in 2007/2008, Benfica have accumulated seven titles, while Sporting come second with four. SC Braga have three League Cups in their cupboard, and FC Porto have lifted the winter champion trophy just once.
Moreirense, in 2016/2017, and Vitória de Setúbal, in 2007/2008, are the only clubs to have managed to break the domination of the “big three”.
