Sporting Lisbon and Vitoria de Guimaraes will go head-to-head on Tuesday at the neutral venue Estadio Dr. Magalhaes Pessoa, with a place in the Taca da Liga final at stake.
With the competition retaining its eight-team format for a second consecutive season, the two sides have taken contrasting routes to the semi-finals, with the Lions easing past lower-division opposition as expected, while the Conquerors pulled off an upset to book their spot.
Match preview
As in the previous edition, the Taca da Liga includes the top six from the previous top-flight season and two second-division sides from that same campaign, with quarter-final pairings determined by league position and decided via single-leg ties.
Having secured the Primeira Liga title for a second successive year, Sporting were handed a relatively favourable quarter-final assignment, coming up against an Alverca side that finished second in the second tier in 2024–25.
As expected, the contest proved one-sided, with Rui Borges’s side putting five past the Ribatejo outfit, whose only reply came via a late Sandro Lima strike.
Sporting lifted the Taca da Liga for the fourth time in five seasons in 2021, but their fortunes in the competition have since waned, losing both finals they have reached, including last season’s penalty shoot-out defeat to city rivals Benfica.
The Lions arrive seeking a response after a rare league slip, having drawn 1–1 away at Gil Vicente last Friday, leaving the reigning champions seven points adrift of the Primeira Liga summit.
The draw in Barcelos also brought an end to an impressive run, with Sporting having won their previous four matches across all competitions, scoring at least three goals in each, so Borges’s men will be eager to rediscover that attacking sharpness here.
© Imago / ZUMA Press Wire
Vitoria, meanwhile, arrive on the back of a 2–1 victory over Nacional, a result that lifted the Conquerors to sixth in the Primeira Liga standings and within three points of the top four.
That triumph snapped a three-match winless run (D1, L2), with the sequence also including a 4–1 league defeat to Sporting at Estadio D. Afonso Henriques on December 23, meaning the Guimaraes club have lost three of their last four meetings with the Lions (D1).
Beyond their recent head-to-head struggles, Luis Pinto’s side also face a historical hurdle, having never progressed beyond this stage of the Taca da Liga, their most recent campaign ending at the quarter-final stage following defeat to Braga.
Back in the semi-finals for the first time in six years, Vitoria required a touch of giant-killing to reach this point, having stunned Porto 3–1 away at Estadio do Dragao on December 4, and they will now be hoping to defy the odds once again on Tuesday.
Sporting Lisbon Taca da Liga form:
Sporting Lisbon form (all competitions):
Vitoria de Guimaraes Taca da Liga form:
Vitoria de Guimaraes form (all competitions):
Team News
© Imago / Ball Raw Images
Sporting will once again be without Geny Catamo and Ousmane Diomande, both of whom are away on international duty at the Africa Cup of Nations.
The Lions are also missing Salvador Blopa, Ricardo Mangas, Geovany Quenda, Pedro Goncalves and Nuno Santos through injury, while Goncalo Inacio is suspended after receiving a red card in last Friday’s league draw at Gil Vicente.
Zeno Debast is nearing a return from a knee issue and could be named in the squad, while Daniel Braganca recently made his comeback from injury for Sporting B, meaning his involvement here cannot be ruled out.
Luis Javier Suarez netted last time out to take his tally to seven goals in his last five appearances and will be looking to maintain that run.
Vitoria, meanwhile, remain without forward Gustavo Sa and Spanish defender Oscar Rivas, both sidelined with muscle injuries.
Beni Mukendi returned from AFCON and made an immediate impact in midfield as Guimaraes got back to winning ways, and head coach Pinto could stick with the same lineup.
Noah Jose Saviolo is expected to retain his place on the left flank after scoring the opener and providing an assist for Rodrigo Abascal’s winner in last weekend’s victory.
Sporting Lisbon possible starting lineup:
Virginia; Vagiannidis, Quaresma, M Ries, Araujo; Simoes, Morita; Trincao, Ioannidis, A Santos; Suarez
Vitoria de Guimaraes possible starting lineup:
Castillo; Maga, Nobrega, Abascal, Mendes; Nogueira, Mukendi; Arcanjo, Samu, Saviolo; Oliveira
We say: Sporting Lisbon 2-1 Vitoria de Guimaraes
While Vitoria are buoyed by their recent victory, history weighs heavily against them, having failed to beat Sporting in a knockout tie for 50 years, with the Lions progressing from all three such meetings since the Conquerors’s triumph in 1976.
Given recent head-to-head trends, Sporting look well placed to edge this semi-final and book their place in the final.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
