Santa Clara take on the visitors Nacional in the 1/8-finals of Taca de Portugal. The match will be played on Thursday, January 11th at Estádio de São Miguel (Ponta Delgada).
Santa Clara will try not to get stuck in the second division this time. For a long time, the Azoreans had the unique pride of being the westernmost professional club in Europe. In 2021, they managed to climb to their highest position, sixth place, even giving them a chance to debut in the Conference League. There, the Portuguese unintentionally embarked on a Balkan journey in the qualifiers: they eliminated Macedonian Shkupi and Olimpija Ljubljana but were defeated by the experienced Partizan. However, last spring, the team dropped out of the top flight and is striving to return immediately. They are fairly successful, consistently staying among the leaders. However, they settled for a goalless draw against Belenenses, and even lost 0-1 at home to Mafra.
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National returned to the Primeira Liga in 2002 and remained there for an uninterrupted decade. They managed to return to the elite twice, for the 2018/2019 and 2020/2021 seasons, but both times immediately ended up in the relegation zone. Then there were unsuccessful seasons: first, a sixth-place finish in the Segunda, and then, in the last season, a thirteenth-place finish. However, the representative of Madeira is currently holding up confidently in the top three. Only two teams will go directly to the Primeira, and the fight for it will be intense until the end of the championship. Although National, an ambitious contender, was limited to a 1-1 draw with Tondela.
Santa Clara had four consecutive victories, but that was in the top division of the country. In November, in the Segunda, National managed at least a 1-1 draw. Despite the high positions in their respective divisions, the clubs are not in top form, and it's uncertain whether the cup interests them. Let's bet on total under 2.5 goals.
Prediction for the match: Under 2.5 scored goals.
