Our prediction for this Portugal Primeira Liga match:
Porto
Match Time & Date:
08/08/2021
19:00
Prediction: 3-0
Belenenses
Porto kick off the new Primeira Liga campaign with a match against Belenenses at their Estadio do Dragao. The Dragons are on a quest to regain the domestic trophy, and, no doubt, they want to make a flying start to the season. Since Porto were scoring goals for fun in pre-season, the bookies see them as favourites to win Sunday’s clash. Serbia international Marko Grujic, who signed a permanent deal in the summer, is pushing for a start, while new signing Pepe (Gremio) is likely to make his Primeira Liga debut against Belenenses.
O Belem, on the other hand, failed to impress in their Portuguese Cup opener against Mafra (0-1), and we do not believe that they are capable of spoiling Porto’s party at Estadio do Dragao. In their last encounter at the venue Porto rolled over Belenenses 4-0, and we predict that the history is going to repeat itself.
Highlighted Player (Pepe):
Pepe is a professional footballer who plays for Porto as a defender. The Portuguese international played for Maritimo at the start of his senior career and in 2004 he moved to Porto. After making 64 league appearances for the Dragons, he signed a contract with Real Madrid in 2007 and he quickly established himself as a first-team regular.
Pepe is well known for his hard tackles and referees often show him red card. The Real Madrid centre back often played as a defensive midfielder under Jose Mourinho and it has to be noted that he scored five goals in all competitions in the 2013/2014 La Liga campaign.
The Portuguese footballer won his second Champions League trophy with Real Madrid in the 2015/2016 season and later in 2016 he helped A Selecao win the European Championship trophy. Portugal defeated France in the title game and Pepe played an important role in Fernando Santos’ team in the Euro 2016 final. The Real Madrid defender was born in Maceio, Brazil on 26 February, 1983.
Highlighted Team (Belenenses):
Founded on September 23, 1919, Belenenses are a Portuguese club that host their rivals at Estado do Restelo. The stadium can hold up to 19,856 spectators and it was built in 1956. O Belem play home games in blue shirts and white shorts and white is the dominant colour of their away kit.
By beating the likes of IFK Goteborg and Rheindorf Altach Belenenses booked their place in the Europa League group stages in the 2015/2016 season. Despite defeating Swiss side Basel in their group, the Portuguese club eventually finished the process in the last position in the standings.
The Estado do Restelo outfit did well to win the Primeira Liga trophy in the 1945/1946 season, with the team finishing the season only one point clear of second-placed Benfica. Speaking of the Portuguese Cup, Belenenses clinched their third Taca de Portugal trophy in the 1988/1989 season. Vitor Godinho is the player with most appearances for the club (272).
