Portuguese Cup quarters finals to be overcome at Estádio da Luz

The emotion of the Portuguese Cup are returning to the Estádio da Luz! At 8:45 p.m. on Wednesday, February 26, SC Braga will be Sport Lisboa e Benfica's next obstacle on their way to the 27th trophy in the competition. The Eagles can count on the strength of their fans in the Cathedral!

Coming off the back of six wins in their last seven games, a run that has catapulted them to the top of the Liga Betclic table and into the last 16 of the Champions League, Bruno Lage's side heads into the quarter-finals of the Portuguese Cup involved on all fronts and with the 2024/25 League Cup trophy duly credited to their name. 

In the 15 matches between the two sides in the Portuguese Cup, the Eagles have won eight times and scored 36 goals and conceded 22.

The Reds' superiority is evident in the matches played in both versions of the Estádio da Luz, where they have 6 wins in 7 matches, with 23 goals scored and 7 conceded.

To reach this stage of the competition, Benfica began by eliminating Pevidém, from the Campeonato de Portuga (Serie A), at the Estádio Comendador Joaquim de Almeida Freitas in Moreira de Cónegos, with a 0-2 win.

Once past the 3rd round, a 7-0 thrashing of Estrela da Amadora (4th round) at the Estádio da Luz and a 1-3, win over Farense at the Estádio de São Luís in Faro followed in the last 16.

With three goals apiece, Di María and Arthur Cabral are the eagles' top scorers in the Portuguese Cup. And the red and white team, with 12 goals scored, has the most goals among the teams still in the competition.

On the other hand, SC Braga saw off 1.º de Dezembro (1-2), Leixões (0-2) and Lusitano de Évora (2-1), all from lower leagues, with a lower goal difference than Benfica: 6 in favor and 2 conceded.

Curiously, Braga's top scorer in the Portuguese Cup moved, on the final day of the winter transfer window, to... Benfica: Bruma, with two goals.

It should be noted that the draw for the quarter-finals of the Portuguese Cup, which saw the third match between the Eagles and Arsenal in the last three editions of the competition, determined the route to the final of the 2024/25 edition of the competition.  The winner of Benfica-Braga will play the winner of the two-legged semi-final between O Elvas and Tirsense, both of whom play in the Campeonato de Portugal.