FC Porto - Benfica

[Giovanni]

23.12.21 - 21:45 CET

PORTUGAL: Taça de Portugal
The Taca de Portugal (the oldest and biggest football tournament in Portugal) will see two great rivals face off. Home side Porto, who are currently top of the league, and third placed Benfica.

Porto have not lost in the league so far, winning thirteen games and only two games ended in draw. They are currently on a run of five wins in a row, beating 14th-placed Visela 4-0 in their last match. In the league match before that, they beat sixth-placed Portimonense 3-0. However, Porto did not perform well in the Champions League, where they lost to Liverpool, Atl. Madrid and AC Milan and finished third, so they will only continue in the Europa League in the spring. Porto will only be missing long-term injured defender Ivan Marcano, who has played eight league games and scored one goal.

Benfica started the league very well, taking seven wins from seven games played. However, in the last eight games they have only five wins, one draw and two losses. In their last league match, they played against tenth-placed Maritimo and took a 7-1 victory. Benfica also played in the Champions League and fared better in a group with Bayern, Barcelona and Dynamo Kiev, qualifying from second place to the 1/8-finals of that competition. Even Benfica have almost all their players available as only Lucas Verissimo, who has played ten league games, will be missing for this match.

Both teams are among the top three in the Portuguese league. Both teams have all the important players at their disposal. However, Benfica have a problem with coach Jorge Jesus, who has not been well received by the team and many fans want him to leave. Benfica lost to second-placed Sporting 1-3 on the third of December, while Porto drew 1-1 with Sporting. Porto's advantage will certainly be the home environment. In their last two matches between them, they ended in a 1-1 draw, but Porto won the other four. I think Porto have more than 50% chance of winning, so I see value at odds of 1.90.

My bet:
FC Porto @ 1.90 (bet365)

 

[Malchus]

The Christmas opener will be a duel between two big clubs in Portugal. Porto will welcome Benfica in the Taca de Portugal, one of the teams will finish in the Portuguese Cup in the 1/8-finals. The two rivals have been in great form in recent weeks, with both teams doing well in the finishing. The home team is a little better at the back, they can close the pitch down, the tactical skill of the team is huge. But both teams have top players in their midfield who can push through any defence in the end. After all, this is also confirmed by the last duels between the teams; in four of the five matches both teams have scored goals, which is certainly no coincidence. Moreover, the cup duel might not be as tactically bound as the league one, both teams will be more driven forward, after all, a possible elimination is not such a tragedy as not winning the title. Both teams came out of the weekend shooting, with Porto putting four goals against Vizel, and Benfica even pushing seven times into the Maritimo net. Both teams will score tonight.

Prediction:
Both Teams to Score - Yes @ 1.61 (bet365)