Benfica – Braga

The favourite to win at home and progress to the semi-finals

The most notable quarter-final duel of the Portuguese Cup will take place on Wednesday in Lisbon. Benfica will take on their opponents as the most titled club of this tournament. In total, the Eagles have won 26 national cup finals. At the same time, the last time Benfica won the title was at the end of the 2016/2017 season. As such, the Eagles' request to win gold medals is more than heightened. Encouragingly, Benfica are on the move now more than ever this season and are progressing in all the tournaments they take part in. Braga have been cup triumphant three times and have lost five times in the final of this tournament. The last time the players of this team lifted the trophy above their heads was in 2021. Bookmakers have identified the home team as the favourites for the upcoming meeting, offering odds of 1.55 on their victory. Benfica started the cup encounters from the 1/32 final, when they scored two unanswered goals to Pevidem team. In the next round, the Lisbon club defeated Estrela 7-0 at home. At the previous stage of the Portuguese Cup, the Eagles visited Farense, lost the first half, but in the second half scored three times in six minutes. Now Benfica is "on fire". The team overcame the knockout rounds of the Champions League, beating Monaco on aggregate, and in the championship has caught up with the regular misfiring Sporting. Recently, the Green and Whites were leading by seven points, but they drew three times, for which they were not forgiven by Benfica. The Eagles now have an active four-game winning streak in the league. Braga defeated little-known club Primera Desembre in the first cup round with a score of 2-1. In the 1/16 final, the team played away against Leixões and scored one unanswered goal in each of the halves. In the last round, Braga defeated Lusitano in home walls with a score of 2:1. In the championship, the club sits in fourth position, with six points behind the two leading teams. The last meeting between the rivals took place in early January. Then Benfica defeated Braga 3-0 in the League Cup and progressed to the final of the country's minor cup tournament. We bet that the hosts will win again.