Betting Picks, Tips and Previews for Liga Sagres

Nacional vs Maritimo – Liga Sagres 

Nacional -> It’s fourth in the League with 16 points in 10 matches. Has played 5 matches at home with 3 victories and 2 defeats. They come from two consecutive wins against Setúbal at home and P. Ferreira away, both by 1-0.

A victory here, with some failures from the top teams may take the team to the Champions League position. Nacional will have two absences for this game: Pedro Oldoni and Amuneke.

The players called by manager Jokanovic are: Read More

Porto vs Benfica – Liga Sagres 

Next Sunday FC Porto hosts Benfica in the much-awaited clash between the leader and the second in the portuguese league standings. Instead of last year’s match in the Dragon Stadium (Estádio do Dragão), where Benfica came at the 28th day as an announced champion with 11-point lead over FC Porto (then third classified) and 5 points over Braga (second in the table) only two days before the league’s end, now the positions are reversed and FCPorto leads with seven points ahead.

In case of victory, FC Porto will increase to 10 points their lead over second place. If victory goes to Benfica, they will reduce the distance to 4 Read More

Porto vs Leiria – Liga Sagres 

The game that closes the 8th round of the Portuguese League is Porto against União de Leiria at the Stadium of the Dragão.

FC Porto is having an outstanding performance this season that started with winning the Super Cup against Benfica, six straight wins in the league, 5 wins in the Europa League and also a win for the Portugal’s Cup. In this walk only a draw on the last round in Guimarães, always a difficult terrain where Benfica has already lost.

Until the beginning of this round Porto had the best attack with 14 goals scored and the best defense with only three conceded. In the attack there is no doubt that Hulk is in a great Read More

Guimaraes vs Porto – Liga Sagres 

Porto remains unbeaten in the top of the league but is approaching a very complicated game. Guimarães has been doing a good league and playing at home is advised caution to Porto.

Targino returns in Guimarães team, after having a serious injury he was out of action for a long time. Not as first choice of course but do not cease a player who is very dangerous. Porto practically does not change anything in the team that has won, however Otamendi seems to have gained a place in central defense to Maicon who had been doing a good championship, but Otamendi might even be the owner tonight.

Porto as I said comes from an immaculate invincible series and even winning every officials game made either at home or away. Visit Guimarães tonight in order to add Read More

Beira-Mar vs Sporting – Liga Sagres 

With many missed opportunities, Beira-Mar play against another big club after being beaten 3-0 by Porto. Suffered three goals against a big club but compared to same level clubs, Beira-Mar kept a solid defense and suffered no more than 1 goal per game except against Vitória de Setubal that end 0-0.

This week Beira-Mar did not had great training conditions, due to a stadium electricity problem, and for today they can expect a strong Sporting, that want to score goals. Beira-Mar despite having risen to this league this season is not a very defensive team and has already showed in games after the game against Porto. With the bad classification from Read More

Setubal vs Paços Ferreira – Liga Sagres 

Closing match for this round in Portuguese main league, Liga Zon Sagres, and battling on the field will be two teams trying to break their negative records. From Setúbal side the record is a team that has been winless at home since March, from Paços de Ferreira side a team that doesn’t win a game as guest for a year, oddly enough, their last successful outing was with Setúbal, also on 6th round.

Playing at home will be Setúbal which we can say started very well this year, with an opening victory against Marítimo in Barreiros for 1-0. This was the only goal scored by Setubal this season, because from that game on they never won a game again, nor scored any goal. On 2nd rounf they’ve managed to tie against last year’s runner-up Braga and after that lost to Read More

Nacional vs Porto – Liga Sagres 

The Choupana is, usually, a very difficult field for the big clubs in Portugal. Porto, is certainly not one of the most successful teams to play in Madeira, specifically against Nacional
Nevertheless in the last two trips here they got two wins, managing to score 8 goals. This is statistics and it may not be important, but is important to highlight, first, their difficulties in Choupana and secondly the recent past of the Invicta team.

André Villas Boas’ Porto has broken some internal records. This is one of the best season starts of the team. If we add the European cups and the Super cup, we see 8 wins in 8 games this season so far.

That already gave him a trophy, has confirmed his intention to win another – European – and got 9 points ahead of the current champions and main rivals in just 4 rounds. Remarkable. The other two title contenders, Braga Read More

Benfica vs Sporting – Liga Sagres 

Benfica has another tough game in this early season, and they know this hard part of the calendar is still not over, as they visit Madeira again next week to face Maritimo, where they lost in the second round to Nacional, and then they meet Sporting de Braga at home.

This couldn’t come in a worse time, because Benfica as everybody knows lost 3 games in the first 4 rounds, and has only 3 points, with the last defeat being in the last round, in Guimarães, a game that lead to hard critics by Benfica to the referees, making a public announcement, putting much pressure in this derby’s referee. Although I agree that Benfica was penalised by the referee, the truth is I didn’t see Benfica make more than 2 or 3 Read More

Olhanense vs Portimonense – Liga Sagres 

For this match, bookies clearly believe that Olhanense is the most valuable team to win this game.

Personally, I do agree with that perception because this season they have already beaten Portimonense by 1-0 at Xelb Cup. Also, this match is an “Algarve” derby, so that both teams will want to beat their own rivals and give their fans some happiness.

Olhão team is still undefeated this season and they have only one goal against. Also, Dauto Faquira, clearly stated that his main goal is the victory: Read More

Leiria vs Sporting – Liga Sagres 

Game of the 28th round of championship. The team of Sporting has almost the 4th place assured and they visit the 8th placed on the table, União de Leiria. I predict a game with a lot of difficulties for Sporting, but I still believe they can win. Leiria still dreams with the 5th place and if they win this game and the other teams lose, its very possible for them to achieve that place. Leiria in the last five games only won one, but at home is not easy to beat this team.

To prove that I give you the last results between this two teams: Read More

Benfica vs Olhanense – Liga Sagres 

Game where if Benfica win they can be champions if Braga lose points. For this game I just see Benfica, the stadium should be full and the team of Olhanense that is on 14th place shouldn’t have nothing to say in this match. Olhanense needs points to assure the maintenance, but it won’t be on this match. To Benfica only the victory matters and wait for Braga to lose points and celebrate the title. I believe in a home win at least for two goals. I don’t see the away team doing something on this match. I see a game with a lot of goals and I predict a 4 – 0 win.

Benfica:

The team managed by Jorge Jesus is on the first place of the championship. They have already won the League Cup where they beat on the final FC Porto by 3 – 0. They end their participation on the Read More

Rio Ave vs Marítimo – Liga Sagres 

Rio Ave can guaranty in this game the maintenance on first division of Portuguese football if they can get any point. Mathematically the maintenance is not assured yet, however, even if they lose their last games, it’s almost impossible that the team managed by Carlos Brito gets relegated. In the other hand, and to avoid calculations, the great wish of Rio Ave is to win this match and assure mathematically the maintenance.

The team of Rio Ave was for a long part of the season, one of the major surprises of the championship. The team was playing good football and the results were helping. Prove of that, is their presence on the semi final of Read More

Sporting vs Setubal – Liga Sagres 

Today we’ll have a game between two teams that we can say that this year are way above their objectives for the season.

The team of Sporting has pass throw a change of manager, Carlos Carvalhal was already fired when we was hired (but that are other matters). What is certain is that in Carvalhal’s era the team changed his attitude, won games and made a good performance on Euro League, but unfortunately they didn’t make throw the quarter final. The only objective now is to hold the Read More

Porto vs Guimaraes – Liga Sagres 

The Vitória de Guimarães is probably, the hardest team that the Futebol Clube do Porto will face in this last five games. After the large victory over Rio Ave that took them to Jamor (to the final of the cup), the FC Porto is searching for another victory in order o put pressure on Sporting de Braga and still believe that they can go to Champions League next season, but only beating Guimarães today that dream is possible.

The team of Guimarães on the other hand keeps dreaming with the 4th place, but with the draw at home on the last game that target is now very difficult to achieve. A draw conceded on the last minutes of the game, in a Read More

Academica vs Benfica – Liga Sagres 

This Sunday, will be faced Académica de Coimbra and Benfica. The game will be important for both teams because both need points. Benfica because it wants to continue with the same margin of points over Sporting Braga had, which were 6 and 3 are at the moment because the Sporting Braga beat Leixões 3-1.

Academic now need points because it has to escape from low places of the classification. And to ensure the maintenance will have to earn points. I think the pressure will be much more side Benfica, because we are just a few days of the end, Benfica and wants to ensure the title as soon as possible, will soon have to necessarily win tomorrow. Scholars also clear that the pressure will therefore need Read More

Benfica vs Sporting – Liga Sagres 

Benfica is very close to be crowned champion after 4 years, but for this to happen it has to survive to some challenges, starting with the Lisbon derby. They have currently a 3-point lead over Braga, but with one less game, after Braga won by 2-1 in Leiria. They have played the best football this year in Portugal, and their career in the league, and even in other competitions has been quite impressive. In the Portugal Cup they soon fell at the feet of Vitoria Guimaraes, but on the other side they won the League Cup by beating in the final the rivals FC Porto and in the Europe League they had a good campaign that ended recently in the quarter-finals against Liverpool.

However, there is a downside. They play with a very high rythm, doing a lot of pressure when they don’t have ball, they play in a way that’s very physically demanding. At this stage of the season, they are far from the Read More

Setubal vs Academica – Liga Sagres 

A clash between two teams that fight to do not get a pass to Vitalis , Vitória in their last games are making an excellent come back and the fact that proves it are that in the last 5 games they manage to earn 8 points. Is fair to say that Académica best game is going for the draw, last five games they have 2 draws and 3 losses.

André Villas Boas, Académica coach, had a recent disappoint in his coaching life knowing that Sporting is no longer interested in him. He can count with Bru and Miguel Fidalgo for this game , Bruno Amaro Read More