The 2009–10 Taça da Liga was the third edition of the Taça da Liga, also known as Carlsberg Cup due to sponsorship reasons. The first matches were played on 1 August 2009. The final was scheduled on 21 March 2009 where Benfica beat Porto 3–0, winning their second Taça da Liga. The final was played at the Estádio Algarve, Faro.
Format
The Cup begins with a two-legged round between teams from Liga de Honra (second level). Winners join the clubs classified 7th–14th from last season's Portuguese Liga (first level) plus two promoted to this season's Liga. There are six groups of three teams each, and every team play two games (once home and once away). Winners of the groups join the top six teams from the last season's Portuguese Liga and there will be three groups of four teams, each team playing three games. Winners of the groups and the best second-placed team compete in the one-legged semifinals, with the winners advancing to the final.
Participating clubs
This is a list of clubs participating in the 2009–10 Portuguese League Cup:
Boavista was first included in the draw, but the club was excluded from professional competitions on July 13, 2009 due to financial debts. Boavista was scheduled to play against Sporting da Covilhã. On the following day, Penafiel and Carregado were invited to the professional leagues and, after both accepting, they officially joined the league on July 28.
First round
The matches will be played on August 1 and 2 (first legs) and August 8 and 9, 2009 (second legs).