Sporting hosts Varzim in the 1/16 finals of Taca de Portugal. The match will be played on Thursday, November 18th at Estádio José Alvalade (Lisbon)
Sporting is the reigning champion of the country. In the last draw of Primeira Liga, the Lions finally made it to the top. After a number of seasons with only 3rd and sometimes 4th places, the metropolitan project finally bypassed everyone, including eternal competitors. But now Porto and Benfica are at least no worse. After 11 rounds, Sporting shares the 1st place with the Dragons, and both clubs have scored 29 points. The Eagles, who showed a powerful start, slightly slowed down, but their lag is not so large. In addition, the Champions League takes a lot of energy. Next week, Sporting will have a decisive match against Borussia Dortmund for 2nd place. Now the representatives of Lisbon and Dortmund have six points each, and the Lions have to succeed at home. Against this background, especially after the national teams' games, it is logical to wait for reservists in the upcoming cup game.
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Varzim has had rather modest success. In the cups, the Sea Wolves stopped at the maximum at the level of the semifinal stage. They also managed to gain promotion to Primeira Liga several times (the last time was in 2012), but they didn’t stay there for a long time. But now Varzim looks terrible even in the 2nd division of Portugal. Having taken a place in the middle of the standings in previous draws, now the Sea Wolves have to fight for survival. After 11 matches, Varzim has only one victory and seven points scored, and only Academica looks worse. Only the Brazilian Heliardo is good. He scored six of the eleven goals of Varzim, but his efforts are not enough. His partners practically do not help him, and the team earned only one point in the last five rounds. It happened on Sunday, November 7th, when Porto-B managed to avoid defeat, winning back two goals in the last half an hour. It is noteworthy that Varzim managed to play well in the cup: an away victory over Oleiros and a 2-2 draw against Maritimo. And the representative of the elite was eliminated in the penalty shootout.
Sporting has never lost a head-to-head match to this opponent. There were six games in total, and the Lions gained four victories and two draws. But since 2016, the clubs have not crossed paths anywhere. Now Bookmakers predict a confident victory for Sporting. It is much stronger, and even in such conditions, it is obliged to win with a -2 handicap.
Prediction for the match: Sporting to win with -2.0 handicap
