Rui Miguel Abreu fears Sporting could be knocked out of the Portuguese Cup | OneFootball

Rui Miguel Abreu, president of Paços de Ferreira, reacted to the draw for the third round of the Portuguese Cup, which resulted in a visit from the trophy holders, Sporting, to Mata Real. The head of the Second League club believes they can eliminate the Alvalade side.

"It’s always good to have big matches back at Mata Real. From a sporting perspective, we would have preferred a more accessible opponent, but we will give our all, confident that Sporting will have a tough time," said the official in statements to Agência Lusa.

The top official of the Paços de Ferreira club also highlighted the possibility of earning significant revenue from the match: "Financially, it was a very interesting draw," he acknowledged, despite giving strong favoritism to the team managed by Rui Borges.

"Although we will do everything to go through and face Anadia or Marinhense, we are clearly aware that we are not the favorites," the official concluded. The clash between Paços de Ferreira and Sporting will therefore take place on the weekend of October 18 and 19.

It is worth remembering that Sporting are the current holders of the trophy, after winning the last Portuguese Cup against Benfica in extra time, 3-1, with the green and white goals scored by Viktor Gyokeres (90’+10), Conrad Harder (99’) and Francisco Trincão (120+1’).

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