Sporting Lisbon vs Benfica: Super Cup Match Preview, Odds & Predictions

Thursday night's Super Cup match between bitter rivals Sporting Lisbon and Benfica will kick off the Portuguese domestic season.

Despite losing their iconic striker to the Premier League, Sporting are currently enjoying a wave of success after winning the league and cup double over their Lisbon rivals last season.

Previous Matches and Head-to-Head

Sporting defeated Benfica in the Taça de Portugal final over two months ago, with the game going to overtime after Viktor Gyokeres's penalty. The club had a decline in performance after Ruben Amorim's transfer to Manchester United, but underwent management changes before winning the title. The new season begins with Sporting facing Casa Pia, but leading scorer Gyokeres will not be participating in preseason training.

The Lions, who have only triumphed once in the last ten years, are heavy favorites to win this matchup with Benfica after going undefeated in their previous seven encounters. Benfica's first league encounter is on August 17, with the third round against Nice. The victor advances to the playoffs, so Lage's team has two challenging rounds of qualifying to return to the league phase this season.

Between the Club World Cup in the United States and the Club World Cup in the United States, Benfica's preseason was shorter, consisting of only one friendly, a 3-2 victory against Fenerbahce, to prepare for the next season. The Lions have only triumphed once in the last ten years, in 2021 against Braga.

Sporting Lisbon x Benfica Team News

Sporting will have to rely on other players to score goals now that Gyokeres is out, but despite knowing he was planning to go for a while, they haven't spent much on a replacement in the transfer market.

Additionally, Dario Essugo has departed for Chelsea, and Geovany Quenda will follow in 2026. Despite remaining for the current season, Borges will be hoping that Francisco Trincao can temporarily fill the number nine role.

As for the Lions, Nuno Santos and Daniel Braganca will both sit out this matchup due to injuries they suffered last year.

While Real Madrid spent the money that Benfica received from the sale of Alvaro Carrera's sale, the Portuguese club was busy trying to replace Angel Di Maria and spending on other players' contracts.

Benfica have signed Amar Dedic, Samuel Dahl, Enzo Barrenechea, and Richard Rios at the Estadio da Luz this summer to reclaim dominance from Sporting; a Super Cup victory would be a great beginning.

Two key defenders for Lage are still sidelined with injuries that kept them out of the Club World Cup. Their names are Alexander Bah and Tomas Araujo.

Our Predictions

Benfica to win @ 2.48 on Sky247.ng

While Sporting did dominate Portuguese football last season, they will be severely lacking in goalscoring options without Gyokeres.

Despite the departure of several key players, Benfica still appears formidable, as evidenced by their performance in the Club World Cup. The current season may be the beginning of great things to come for the Portuguese club.

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