Our prediction for this Portugal Primeira Liga match:
Sunday’s football game at Estadio de Madeira pits together Nacional and Benfica, the two teams who are sitting in the opposite halves of the table. Nacional’s main goal is to avoid relegation, while Benfica are determined to regain the Primeira Liga trophy. Os Alvinegros do not seem to be at their sharpest, losing to both Estoril and Braga, while sharing the spoils with Famalicao and given Benfica’s splendid form, home win should not be considered. Defender Ulisses is back from suspension for the hosts.
Bruno Lage’s men, on the other hand, are on a three-game winning run in the national championship and given their excellent performance in the Champions League crushing (4-0) of Atletico Madrid, anything but a routine away win would be a big surprise. Tiago Gouveia and Renato Sanches should be the only absentees in the visiting team.
Highlighted Player (Angel di Maria):
Angel Di Maria is a professional footballer who played for Argentine side Rosario Central at the start of his senior career. The left-footed winger is very quick on the ball and he often makes life difficult for opposition defenders. After playing for Benfica between 2007 and 2010, the Argentine superstar signed for Real Madrid on 28 June, 2010 for a fee of €25 million + €11 million in bonuses.
Despite impressing with los Blancos in the 2013/2014 La Liga campaign, the club chiefs decided to sell him to Manchester United on 26 August, 2014. Di Maria was playing below expectations at Old Trafford and he scored three goals in 27 league games for the Red Devils.
In 2015 he moved to Paris Saint-Germain and he scored 10 goals in 29 league appearances for les Parisiens in the 2015/2016 Ligue 1 campaign. In 2014 he won the Champions League trophy with Real Madrid and that is considered the biggest success of his career. Angel Di Maria was born in Rosario on 14 February, 1988.
Highlighted Team (Nacional):
Nacional is a Portuguese football club based in Funchal, on the island of Madeira. Nacional compete in Primeira Liga, with the team hosting their rivals at Estadio de Madeira. The stadium was opened in the winter of 1998, and it can hold no more than 5,132 spectators.
Nacional is one of the oldest clubs in Portugal as it was founded back in 1910. Los Alvinegros are well known for their white shirts with black stripes, with the team wearing yellow jerseys when playing on the road. Nacional have great rivalry with neighbouring club Maritimo, with the two clubs facing each other in the Madeira derby. Los Alvinegros have won AF Madeira Cup on six occasions (1943/44, 1944/45, 1973,74, 1974/75, 2001/02, 2007/08).
The 2003/04 campaign is considered the most successful season in the history of Nacional as they finished the process in the 4th position in the standings. As a result, they booked their place in the UEFA Cup. In the 2009/10 season Nacional participated in the Europa League group stages, facing the like of Athletic Club, Austria Wien, and Werder Bremen in Group L.