Porto and Famalicão face off at the Dragão, Benfica await in the quarters | OneFootball

FC Porto and Famalicão face each other this Thursday at 8:45 PM, at Estádio do Dragão, with a spot in the quarter-finals of the Portuguese Cup at stake; the winner will, it should be noted, host Benfica in the next round.

FC Porto leads the Primeira Liga alone, still undefeated, although they were recently eliminated at home from the League Cup. Famalicão currently occupies the 6th place in the championship.

To reach these round of 16, FC Porto eliminated Celoricense (4-0) and Sintrense (3-0), while Famalicão knocked out São João de Ver (3-0) and Estoril (2-1).

Current Form

The Porto team comes into the match after a 3-1 victory over Estrela da Amadora the previous weekend. The early elimination from the League Cup, against Vitória de Guimarães, is the only game the team hasn't won in the last eight played. Francesco Farioli's team has only failed to score in two of the 23 official matches this season.

Famalicão also has a recent victory – 4-0 against Estoril – and has only suffered two defeats in the last 11 matches, both at home against SC Braga and FC Porto. Away from home, the team has not lost this season: in eight trips, they have five wins and three draws, having scored in all matches as visitors.

Head-to-Head History

The teams have already met this season, in November, in the 11th round of the Primeira Liga, with FC Porto winning in Famalicão by 0-1, thanks to a goal by Victor Froholdt in the first half.

In total, there have been 32 duels between the two teams in all competitions: 23 victories for FC Porto, 5 draws, and 4 triumphs for FC Famalicão. In games at Estádio do Dragão, there have been 16 matches, with 12 victories for FC Porto, 3 draws, and 1 victory for Famalicão. In the last eight home games against Famalicão, FC Porto has always scored two or more goals.

The last knockout between them in the Portuguese Cup occurred in 2022/23, in the two-legged semi-finals: at Dragão, Porto won 3-2 after extra time, following a 2-1 victory away.

What the Coaches Say

Francesco Farioli, FC Porto coach: “The motivation is to move forward. If we want to reach the final and celebrate the Cup, we have to win games. We will have to face the best teams in the competition, and tomorrow's is the most competitive. We will focus on tomorrow's game, which deserves a lot of attention and the right response and attitude.”

Hugo Oliveira, Famalicão coach: “Normally, the table shows the truth of the events, and FC Porto has been the most regular and capable team, possessing more power. That's why they have more points. They have a strong team, with many alternatives, and fight in all competitions to win. In this game, they will find a team extremely assertive in its game profile, playing courageously. I understand Farioli might identify with us at certain moments.”

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