The first major piece of silverware of the Portuguese season is up for grabs on Saturday as Sporting Lisbon take on rivals Porto in the Taca da Liga final at the Estadio Dr Magalhaes Pessoa.
A double from Paulinho settled the semi-final for Sporting as they progressed past Arouca with a 2-1 victory, while Porto cruised past Academico Viseu in a convincing 3-0 victory to book their place in the final.
Match preview
After once again qualifying for the Taca da Liga final, Sporting Lisbon have their eyes on a fifth winners medal in the space of six years and a third consecutive victory after winning the previous two editions of the competition.
However, since returning from the World Cup break, Sporting have been in shaky form in the league, with their only win coming in a 2-1 victory against Vizela through a last-minute penalty.
It has been Sporting's defensive issues that have cost them at times this season, as the current Taca da Liga champions have only recorded five clean sheets this season, after finishing at the top of the clean sheet charts last season with 18.
Pedro Goncalves has been the standout performer for Sporting Lisbon this season, scoring nine goals and registering three assists in his 16 Primeira Liga games, and he will likely be their best chance of victory in this final.
Pedro Porro could also be a huge threat down Sporting's right-hand side if he is to feature in this fixture, with the wing-back providing two goals and six assists in the league this season, however, due to heavy links to Tottenham Hotspur, the 23-year-old is a doubt to feature in this encounter.
As they match up against a Porto side that have the best defensive record in the league this season, Sporting will need invention from their two respective creators to secure a third Taca da Liga trophy in a row - a feat only Benfica have managed before.
Meanwhile, Porto are currently in red-hot form, having gone undefeated in their previous 16 games in all competitions, scoring 17 goals in their previous six games and only conceding twice.
Porto are also undefeated in their previous six outings against Sporting Lisbon, including victories in each of the last three, to make them favourites to lift this trophy for the first time in their history this weekend.
They are currently seven points ahead of Sporting Lisbon in the Primeira Liga table while conceding fewer and scoring more in the process.
Mehdi Taremi has been purring this season for the challengers, as the forward has displayed a series of splendid performances in the Champions League, scoring five and assisting twice in his five appearances, while also impressively leading the line at the World Cup for Iran.
Similar to the last encounter between the two sides, Porto will allow Sporting Lisbon possession in harmless areas and will look to pounce on opportunities to aggressively win the ball back and counter-attack with their quality forward line.
Veteran defender Pepe will be key in this matchup, as he will need to lead his backline to help maintain focus and discipline in the team's defensive structure.
Team News
Sporting Lisbon are expected to make two changes to the side that secured them a place in the final against Arouca.
Jerry St Juste could make way for Goncalo Inacio at right centre-back, as they face a considerably stronger side which they defeated in their last outing.
Pedro Porro may not feature in this fixture, as the Spanish wing-back is currently heavily linked to Tottenham Hotspur and may no longer be at Sporting Lisbon by the time the final kicks off.
Hidemasa Morita is also expected to be dropped in order to facilitate Trincao's inclusion in the side, as the Portuguese forward has been an ever-present in Ruben Amorim's team selections this season.
Porto could make three changes to their side that breezed past Academico Viseu in their last fixture.
Mehdi Taremi and Antonio Martinez will likely replace youngsters Danny Loader and Gabriel Veron, as the Iranian and Spanish forward are the two regular starters upfront for Porto.
Brazilian winger Pepe is also expected to be replaced by fellow compatriot Wenderson Galeno, with the winger being in good form for his side recently.
Brazilian forward Evanilson will miss the final due to a knee injury and will reportedly not return to the side until mid-February.
Claudio Ramos is set to keep his place over the regular goalkeeper Diogo Costa as the 31-year-old is usually preferred in cup games to his Portuguese counterpart.
Sporting Lisbon possible starting lineup:
Adan; Inacio, Coates, Matheus; Esgaio, Ugarte, Goncalves, Santos; Edwards, Paulinho, Trincao
Porto possible starting lineup:
Ramos; Mario, Pepe, Marcano, Wendell; Otavio, Uribe, Eustaquio, Galeno; Martinez, Taremi
We say: Sporting Lisbon 1-3 Porto
We believe that this competition will be decided by which team is able to keep the tightest defence and be clinical with their opportunities in front of the goal.
Therefore, we think that Sporting Lisbon will not win their third Taca da Liga trophy in a row and that Porto will come out victorious for the first time ever in this competition.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
body check tags ::
Previews by email
