Favourite for Sporting v Porto? Tonel has his doubts: I expect more... | OneFootball

The former central defender Tonel believes that the Sporting - Porto match, the first leg of the Portuguese Cup semi-finals, will be a "very tactical" and balanced game, predicting a closely contested tie with no clear favorite going in.

"I foresee another very rigid, very tactical match with few goals," said the former center-back in statements to Agência Lusa. Tonel completed his training at Porto and later in his career played for Sporting for five seasons.

The former Portuguese international also mentioned that Sporting has an increasingly strong foundation and players who can make a difference. "Sporting is becoming more solid and has a lot of quality up front. Luis Suárez, Francisco Trincão, and Geny Catamo are players who, at any moment, can help decide a game," he said.

Regarding the qualities of the Dragons in the classic that took place in August, he added: "They don't allow counterattacks, they break up play a lot in midfield. They understand the moments of the game at a very advanced level, considering there are so many new things," he emphasized, without picking favorites: "It's very balanced, 50-50. I don't see a favorite here."

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