Mourinho eyes Famalicão clash, considers Benfica’s fixture list | OneFootball

The start of 2026 is going to be quite tough for Benfica. As revealed, the team, led by José Mourinho, will be on the road for two weeks, as at the beginning of January, the Eagles will not set foot on the pitch of Estádio da Luz.

According to the newspaper Record, the team starts the new year with four consecutive away matches, five if they qualify for the League Cup final. All these matches will be crucial for the team's sporting future.

Until then, Benfica faces Famalicão this Monday, December 22, and finishes 2025 with a visit to Pedreira, in Braga. The break between games will allow José Mourinho's squad some time to rest. 2026 begins with a home game against Estoril on January 3, but then the tough part begins.

The grueling cycle starts with another match against Braga on January 7, this time for the League Cup semi-final. If they beat the Minho team, Benfica will play the final three days later against the winner of Sporting–Vitória de Guimarães. The matches will take place in Leiria. On the 14th, the Eagles travel to Invicta for the Portuguese Cup game against Porto. Four days later, it's time to visit Rio Ave in Vila do Conde.

However, the journey doesn't end there, and three days later, on January 21, the Clube da Luz boards a plane to Turin for the 7th round of the Champions League. Almost 22 days later, the Eagles return home to host Estrela da Amadora and close the month with a duel against Real Madrid on January 28. It's going to be a crazy start to the year for José Mourinho and company.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇵🇹 here.