Famalicao and Porto will kick off their fight for a place in the Taca de Portugal final on Wednesday, when they meet for the first leg of their semi-final tie.

Wednesday's hosts reached the final four with a triumph over Belenenses in the previous round, while the visitors got past Academico de Viseu in their bid to retain the trophy this term.

Match preview

Famalicao began their Taca de Portugal campaign in the third round with a trip to second-tier Trofense in October and advanced with a 1-0 victory, before progressing further in the competition with a 4-1 beating of Dumiense as Jhonder Cadiz netted a brace alongside goals from Zaydou Youssouf and Santiago Colombatto.

That booked them a fifth-round tie away at second-tier Leixoes, and after looking set to come away with a 1-0 victory courtesy of Alexandre Penetra's 77th-minute goal, Fama were pegged back deep into injury time as the hosts won a penalty, which Thalis Cantanhede converted to take the tie to extra time.

Joao Pedro Sousa's side would eventually prevail in that contest, as Cadiz netted the decisive goal early in the second period of extra time to set up a quarter-final meeting with Belenenses, in which Alex Dobre put them ahead before Cadiz made the lead three with a quickfire brace around the hour mark.

Ruben Oliveira would then pull one back for their visitors, but Ivan Jaime quickly restored Fama's three-point cushion to ensure they booked a place in the final four, and they now head into the semi-finals full of confidence, having put three consecutive victories together to move up to sixth place in the Primeira Liga, most recently coming from 2-0 down to beat Maritimo 3-2 thanks to goals from Cadiz, Ivo Rodrigues and Pablo, with the winner coming from the latter in the 98th minute.

Now turning their attention back to their cup campaign in the midst of a top-five bid in Portugal's top flight, Famalicao will hope to make the most of home advantage and go ahead in their two-legged tie on Wednesday.

Their visitors, meanwhile, will make the trip with the final in their sight as they aim to win a third Taca de Portugal trophy in four years.

After defeating Tondela 3-1 in last season's final, Sergio Conceicao's side kicked off the new cup campaign with 6-0 and 3-0 victories away at Anadia and Mafra respectively, before meeting top-flight opposition in Arouca in the fifth round and advancing with a dominant 4-0 win thanks to a Galeno goal and Toni Martinez's second-half hat-trick.

That triumph sealed the Dragoes' place in the quarter-finals, and they made the trip to second-tier Academico de Viseu in February, with Andre Franco netting the only goal of the match soon after half time to put his side in the final four for the sixth straight season.

The Dragoes also come into Wednesday's meeting in fine form on the league front too, having kept their hopes of retaining the Primeira Liga title alive with four straight victories, including a 2-1 triumph away at leaders Benfica in early April, before beating Santa Clara by the same scoreline and most recently triumphing 2-0 away at Pacos de Ferreira courtesy of goals from Mehdi Taremi and Martinez.

Now finding themselves four points off top spot with five league games left to play, Conceicao's men will know that, after winning the Taca da Liga in January, their best chance of a second piece of silverware this season is in the Taca de Portugal, and they will look to go ahead before welcoming Famalicao to the Estadio do Dragao for the second leg in early May.

Team News

Famalicao are only expected to make minimal changes to the starting XI from their latest win over Maritimo at the weekend, although key defender Riccieli will return to contention after being suspended for that game, and he should come back into the middle of the back four alongside either Otavio or Enea Mihaj.

At the other end of the pitch, the line will again be led by Jhonder Cadiz, who has netted 10 goals in all competitions so far this season including five on their way to the Taca de Portugal semi-finals, putting him joint-second in the competition scoring charts this term.

In a 4-2-3-1 setup, Cadiz will have plenty of support from Alex Dobre, Ivo Rodrigues and Ivan Jaime, who has contributed eight goals and three assists in 19 appearances in Portugal's top flight this season, while Santiago Colombatto should again join Zaydou Youssouf at the base of midfield.

Defender Joao Mario will likely remain Porto's only enforced absentee through injury, and after rotating his squad somewhat in earlier rounds of the Taca de Portugal, Conceicao should deploy a full-strength starting XI on Wednesday with plenty of options all over the pitch.

The attack will be spearheaded by star man Mehdi Taremi, who has netted 24 goals and provided 12 assists in all competition for the Dragoes so far this season, while Toni Martinez will likely join him up front from the outset.

Pepe, Otavio, Mateus Uribe and Galeno could all be given the nod in a midfield four, although there is competition for starts from the likes of Stephen Eustaquio, Marko Grujic and Andre Franco, while veteran centre-back Pepe may be given a rest with Fabio Cardoso expected to come in and join Ivan Marcano in the middle of the defence.

Famalicao possible starting lineup:
Junior; Penetra, Mihaj, Riccieli, Moura; Colombatto, Youssouf; Dobre, Rodrigues, Jaime; Cadiz

Porto possible starting lineup:
Costa; Manafa, Marcano, Cardoso, Sanusi; Pepe, Otavio, Uribe, Galeno; Taremi, Martinez

We say: Famalicao 1-2 Porto

Famalicao come into the game in fine form and will be desperate to get a result in their home leg, but we do not see them having enough to match the current Primeira Liga, Taca de Portugal and Taca da Liga champions and anticipate the Dragoes coming away with a narrow lead.


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