Preview:Sporting Lisbon vs Marinhense - prediction, team news, lineups

Fresh off the international break, Sporting Lisbon will continue their Taca de Portugal defence as they welcome fourth-tier Marinhense to Estadio Jose Alvalade for fourth-round action on Saturday.

The Lions reached this stage after a hard-fought win over second-division Pacos de Ferreira, while the visitors advanced by edging past Samora Correia, Mosteirense and Anadia.

Match preview

Even if a clean sweep of all four domestic honours proves out of reach, Sporting still have every reason to dream of surpassing last season’s double.

Rui Borges’s men, who claimed the top-flight title and Portuguese Cup in the previous campaign, began 2025-26 with a Supertaca defeat to rivals Benfica but remain strong contenders for the remaining three trophies.

The Lions are only three points off the Primeira Liga summit after a 2-1 victory over Santa Clara last time out and are also in the semi-finals of the Taca da Liga, awaiting the winner of Porto versus Vitoria de Guimaraes.

Sporting have also impressed on the continental front, currently just two points shy of an automatic Champions League qualification spot, underlining an encouraging early-season charge for the capital club.

The third round of the Portuguese Cup saw the holders edge past Pacos thanks to an own goal in extra time, with the 3-2 victory kicking off a run of six wins in seven matches (D1), making Saturday’s fixture appear a relatively straightforward task for Borges’s men.

By contrast, Marinhense arrive in poor form, having failed to score in each of their last four games, including a 3-0 league defeat to SB Castelo Branco last time out.

The Marinha Grande club’s cup campaign has offered some solace, however, having progressed to this stage with a penalty victory over Anadia, following an earlier shootout win against Samora Correia and a 6-0 thrashing of Mosteirense in the second round.

This marks only the fourth time in Marinhense’s history that they have reached this phase of the competition, the most recent being in 2019-20 when they exited in the round of 16, while the club’s best-ever Taca de Portugal achievement dates back to 1962-63, when they got to the quarter-finals.

Facing a far superior host is already a tall order for the fourth-tier side, a challenge made even harder by off-field turmoil, with head coach Rui Sacramento sidelined under a preventive suspension as the club investigates alleged psychological abuse of players.

Sporting Lisbon Taca de Portugal form:

Sporting Lisbon form (all competitions):

Marinhense Taca de Portugal form:

Marinhense form (all competitions):

Team News

Maxi Araujo received a red card in Sporting’s win over Santa Clara and will miss this match through suspension, meaning Ricardo Mangas could start at left-back as he did in the previous round, although Matheus Reis is another option.

Nuno Santos is nearing a return after more than a year out due to a serious knee injury, while fellow long-term absentee Daniel Braganca continues his recovery from the same issue.

Centre-back Zeno Debast and winger Pedro Goncalves remain sidelined, while striker Fotis Ioannidis is not expected back before early December, so it will not be a surprise to see Luis Suarez lead the line despite only just returning from international duty.

Marinhense are likely to be led by assistant manager Xabregas, who may reinstate Ohoulo Framelin in goal, as he featured in the previous round.

Rafael Gomes and Luiz Neto are expected to pair up at the heart of defence, with David’s availability uncertain after missing recent matches.

Brahima Diallo could start at left-back, though Cristiano Abreu is another option, while Arnold is likely to occupy the right-back position, and Joao Vieira will probably lead the attack.

Sporting Lisbon possible starting lineup:

Virginia; Mangas, Diamonde, Quaresma, Vagiannidis; Hjulmand, Morita; A Santos, Trincao, Quenda; Suarez

Marinhense possible starting lineup:

Framelin; Diallo, R Gomes, Neto, Arnold; Watch, F Oliveira, Omrani, Batalha, Dede; Vieira

We say: Sporting Lisbon 4-0 Marinhense

This will be the first meeting between the sides in this century, so drawing conclusions from historical encounters offers little guidance.

However, Sporting are clearly the superior team and in stronger form, so anything less than an emphatic victory for the Lions would be considered a surprise.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.