Thursday night will see holders Braga host Vitoria de Guimaraes in the quarter-finals of the Taca da Liga, a competition now with a new format from this season.

preview

After a shock defeat at home to notoriously poor-travellers Bodo/Glimt in the Europa League last midweek, Braga beat Farense 2-0 at the weekend in the league heading into this cup clash.

Carlos Carvalhal's side remain fifth on 17 points, and are only two shy of Benfica in third, but they have played a game more.

A win was welcome after recent results which saw them hammered by Olympiacos, lose at Porto and only limp past third-tier Dezembro in the other domestic cup, before losing to Bodo/Glimt.

Facing bottom-placed Farense was well-timed for Carvalhal, as his Braga side were very comfortable winners in a game where they should have scored more than just two, as they seek to build confidence as they begin their defence of this trophy.

Braga's record in the competition is superb, considering they are not part of the traditional big three in Portugal, having won it on three occasions since 2013, reaching a further two finals as well.

Penalty shoot-out glory against Estoril saw them take the crown last season, and they will see this as a promising opportunity to make it into the semi-finals, a stage they have reached nine times in the last 13 seasons.

However, Guimaraes will provide a stern test, especially given the fact they have already won at the Quarry in the league this season.

A 2-2 draw with Estrela at the weekend means Rui Borges's men slipped two points behind Braga though, as some indifferent league form recently has seen them fall to sixth.

Four wins from their opening five had Guimaraes joint-second early on, but they are now winless in four Primeira Liga outings, having not won since that victory at Braga.

However, a good omen to counteract that is the fact they have been perfect in cup competitions so far.

Perhaps prioritising them over the thankless task of trying to break into the top three is a wise idea, and after beating Pacos de Ferreira in the Taca de Portugal, Guimaraes made it two from two in the Conference League, recording a 2-1 win away to Djurgadens last midweek.

That will be the inspiration to improve their fortunes in this competition, where they have only made it past this stage twice, as they went on to lose in the semi-finals on both occasions, to Benfica in 2008-09 and Porto in 2019-20.

Braga possible starting lineup:

Hornicek; Victor Gomez, Joao Ferreira, Niakate, Adrian Marin; Zalazar, Joao Moutinho; Bruma, Ricardo Horta, Gharbi; El Ouazzani

Vitoria de Guimaraes possible starting lineup:

Charles Silva; Alberto Costa, Borevkovic, Tomas Ribeiro, Miguel Maga; Joao Mendes, Manu, Handal; Arcanjo, Ramirez, Kaio Cesar