Bongani Zungu will be involved in a dress rehearsal for this season’s Portuguese Cup final when he turns out for Vitoria Guimaraes against Benfica in the penultimate round of league fixtures in the country on Saturday.
Benfica will win the league title with victory‚ which could ironically play into the hands of Vitoria for the cup final‚ when the Lisbon club will still be in a celebratory mood.
The team from the capital hold a five-point lead over second-placed FC Porto and could even be crowned champions in defeat if the latter don’t take full points from their home clash with Paços de Ferreira on Sunday.
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But Vitoria‚ with Zungu pulling the strings in midfield‚ have won their last seven league matches in a row‚ and are unbeaten in 11 games in all.
They have already qualified for the UEFA Europa League and are still in with a slim chance of Champions League football‚ but need Sporting Lisbon to lose both their remaining games‚ which is unlikely.
Zungu picked up yet another Man of the Match prize in their 1-0 home win over Arouca on Sunday in a season that has seen him draw admirers from across Europe‚ including Benfica.
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“It would be the cherry on top of a great season to win the cup final‚” Zungu told Times Media Digital.
“Benfica are a great side though and it is going to be really tough. We hope they are league champions this season and then might be still celebrating by the time the cup final is played on May 28.
“I will continue working hard to try and get us the trophy. I have been happy with my form of late‚ but want to finish the season strongly and winning the cup would be a dream.”
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Vitoria were last cup champions in Portugal in the 2012/13 season‚ the only major honour in their 94-year history.
They have also been runners-up on five occasions.
- TMG Digital/TMG Sport
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