Our prediction for this Portugal Primeira Liga match:
Porto
Match Time & Date:
30/12/2021
22:00
Prediction: 2-2
Benfica
All eyes will be on Estadio do Dragao when Porto and Benfica face each other in O Classico on Matchday 16. The Dragons did well to crush the Eagles in the Taca de Portugal derby, and, as a result, the bookies see them as favourites to win the league clash as well. A man to watch in the home team will be Evanilson, who scored a brace in the Portuguese Cup clash, while Ivan Marcano remains in the recovery room.
Benfica, on the other hand, are hungry for revenge. They had two goals disallowed in the Taca de Portugal defeat, and given their attacking potential, we believe that there is a big value in betting on both teams to score this time out. All Nemanja Radonjic, Lucas Verissimo, and Rodrigo Pinho are out of contention with injuries for the visiting team.
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 (Benfica):
Member of the ‘Big Three’ clubs in Portugal alongside FC Porto and CP Sporting, Sport Lisboa e Benfica are the football club that has never been relegated from the Primeira Liga. The club is nicknamed Aguias because of the Eagle symbol atop the club’s crest. Benfica play their home games at the Estadio da Luz which replaced the original one in 2003 and which boasts the capacity of more than 64,000. Arguably the most successful club in Portugal, Benfica have won a record of 35 Primeira Liga titles and also a record 25 Taca de Liga and 7 Taca da Liga trophies.
Two-time European Cup winners, Benfica are the club known for their diligent work with youth players, many of which went on to make great careers abroad. The most prominent players to wear a Benfica shirt are legendary Eusebio, Manuel Bento, Jorge Tavares and most recently Javier Saviola, Nuno Gomes, David Luiz and Angel Di Maria.
