Topic: Portuguese League - Liga Portugal 2023/24 - page 19. (Read 5289 times)

Sometimes the best thing to do is not to bet, and that's exactly what happened hehe
The results of this round were quite surprising to me
I thought Benfica x Braga would end in a draw, and that Porto could beat Sporting, but I was wrong, it's a good thing I didn't bet, otherwise I would have lost

It was a very important result for Sporting that will certainly finish the year in first place. The only reason it wasn't better was because Benfica also won and are very close with 1 point difference
Braga's situation got worse, they fell further away from Sporting

The match was an interesting one but the outcome of the game really surprise me. I never believe Porto won't even score at least a goal. They were beaten with a goaless 2- 0 by Sporting. At least I'm expecting both team to score in this match.

Wow, what an awful game for Pepe, he is probably main reason why Porto didn't achieved positive result. He simply couldn't do anything againt Gyokeres, he was just to slow. And when things doesn't goes well for Pepe, he ften lose his cool head like happened today and nothing surprising that he got second yellow card. And with one man down Porto couldn't do much against team like Sporting who had one of their best games this season.

It was so strange to see Benfica defending so much in 2nd half. Braga deserved to get point at least, but as you said, Benfica goalkeeper was man of the match, making several deadly saves.

It ended up being a good football game, with Benfica having a better first half - where they scored the winning goal. And then in the second half Braga managed to be on top of the game in several moments. I think Benfica's best player was the goalkeeper - much criticized at the beginning of the season - who managed to make 3 or 4 incredible saves. Braga also played well, but I couldn't score. In the end, Benfica won 0-1.

The standings are still topped by Benfica and Porto and Sporting are in second and third place with the same points, but in this match the winner of them will be able to overtake Benfica to top the standings.
It just possible that their match will end in draw because both of them have performed quite well this season.

The three teams Porto, Benfica and Sporting can always dominate the league every season and they always take turns in the race for the title.
For this season, it is still not clear who will be able to win the League, but it is possible that after the middle of the season, we can slowly see who will be able to become the strongest candidate to win the League this season.

Looking at Porto development in terms of quality of play and performance, they really have chance to win over Sporting, but to be honest this is match that is difficult to predict.
The only thing I can say is that it is possible for it to end in draw.
But Porto also have to prepare themselves for the round of 16 of the UCL so it is also possible that in the match against Sporting they will not use much ability to maintain the stability of all the players.

This will be a very interesting and very fierce match of course, Sporting CP just suffered a defeat against Guimaraes when they were the visiting team and in this match Sporting CP being the home team will of course be an advantage for Sporting CP but Porto is also it's good condition to have a winning streak recently and have only experienced 1 defeat in the last 5 matches so I think Porto will fight hard even though Porto will play an away match. Moreover, Porto's defense is very strong, he also played well in the Champions League and managed to qualify in the round of 16, so Porto is in high self-confidence At the moment.

Even so, many bookmakers will certainly feel confused about predicting this match because both clubs are equally strong and have high self-confidence, even though Sporting previously suffered a defeat in the domestic league against Guimaraes, but Sporting CP also just won in the Europa League and qualified for play off round so no club can be underestimated here because both clubs are in good condition.

Sporting CP VS Porto
Today is the game of the number one and two teams in the league table. Both teams have equal points. Only one goal ahead of Sporting Club Porto on goal difference. The outcome of today's match could have a significant impact on the title race, so both teams will try their best to come out on top. Overall, this is going to be an exciting and important match in the league and fans can expect to see an intense battle between the two top teams. It remains to be seen if Sporting can bounce back and claim victory or if Porto can maintain their strong form. The match may go for a possible draw, but one thing is for sure - I don't want to miss this match.

It is going to be hard to choose a winner from this match. Both of the teams are in kind of the same type of form right now. One could be slightly better compared to the other. But at the end of the day, it is kind of the same. So I think at the end of the day it is going to come down to the fact that which team is going to perform better on the given day. Both of the teams are definitely going to go for a win. And that might be the only thing making the difference. Because when both of the teams are going to push for goals, they are probably going to leave gaps in the defense. I definitely do not think that it is going to be a goalless draw.

Thus, this week will be a very interesting week, because the four top ranked teams will face off and also, they still have a close points gap. But indeed, I also agree that the match between Braga v Benfica looks like any result can still happen. Although yes, at least Braga has better results compared to Benfica at this moment because after all, at least Braga has better productivity compared to Benfica this moment.

But despite this, the reality is that based on the current odds, at least Benfica is still quite the favorite. Therefore, I say that any result can happen in this match, and Braga cannot completely guarantee that they will win this match.

Both teams haven't performed well in Europe, that can be said especially about Benfica. But at least both got in Europa league playoffs. My expectation that Benfica won't take 3 points today - it may be draw or or Braga win. As you said, Benfica in recent meetings had problems with Braga and in general this season they're not looking confident. I'm not talking about Europe, even in Portugal they're struggling with weak opponents. They don't play that bad, but wasting so many moments.
And tomorrow round will end with cherry on top - Sporting vs Porto. Difficult to predict something here, so, probably I will go with BTTS. Porto should be in great mood after beating Shakhtar and getting into CL playoffs.

Braga Vs Benfica
Braga lost to Napoli in midweek but will be looking to bounce back with a win at home to Benfica today. Meanwhile Benfica suffered disappointing draws at the hands of SC Farense and Moreirense in the domestic league which saw them drop off the top of the table. Benfica have lost three of the previous four meetings between the two teams. Today's match is going to be very exciting as both the teams have a point gap of 1 in the league table and are aiming for the top spot in the league. I think today's match could be a high-scoring draw.

I'll be watching both games, thankfully on different days
But I don't have the courage to bet on either game
I don't even think I'll bet on the number of goals, it's quite unpredictable when these teams meet

If it were just a guess, I think Porto will win and Benfica's game will be a draw but wihtout any conviction hehehe

These two matches could give the winner a good points advantage
It would be nice if there were two draws 

In this round we will have very interesting games in which the 4 top teams will face each other, Benfica will play against the team that in the last 5 games managed to obtain 5 victories, in other words Braga has 5 consecutive victories, they will come to this game very motivated to win, this is because a victory for them in this game would put them in a good position, when you look at the clashes that Braga had involving the big teams this season, they did well, although they only played against Sporting in a game in which they managed break even. while Benfica are also 5 games without losing, they only had 2 wins and 3 draws, but they did well when they played against the top teams, Benfica beat Porto and Sporting this season even when they are facing ineffectiveness in attack

Therefore, in my opinion, Benfica will achieve a draw or victory in this game. after they managed to obtain a victory in European competitions in which they scored many goals, so this game will serve as a test to see if their attack has improved, a victory for Benfica in this game would bring a lot of joy to their fans and give them hope of winning the title . another very important game will be Porto's game against Sporting, both teams have not done well when playing against top teams, but both teams have done well when playing against weak teams. but sposting comes from a defeat against an opponent who was not strong while Porto comes from a victory, in my opinion I see Porto coming out with victory in this game

In the last 2 games Porto has been a very stable team and has scored a lot of goals, they managed to score 3 goals in the game against Casa Pia and then scored 5 goals in the European Champions League game, a game in which they won and guaranteed passage. to another stage of the European Champions League. I see Porto as a strong candidate for the title, when Porto plays very badly they rarely finish in second place with a big difference in points and when Porto starts to play well, they become champions with a big difference in points

Vitoria and Boavista will face each other today. Boavista lost 3-1 to Estrella last time out, extending their losing streak to 6 matches in all competitions. Meanwhile, Vitoria is chasing Barga from the fifth place in the points table. Vitoria SC are buoyed after beating Sporting in a 5-goal thriller last weekend. I think Vitoria SC can continue their winning streak. Both teams can score today. I think  vitoria can collect all 3 points with a 2-1 win over Boavista in today's match and close the points gap with the top team in the league table.

I also think Braga has no escape despite being a difficult team to beat especially in Portugal,Benfica is on top form,of course a team who can score 3 goals in the same half against Inter Milan in the Champions League should at least in theory be able to beat any team in Liga Portugal no matter who the teams are.I also think that Benfica has the better players compared to all other teams and most probably in the end they are going to win Liga Portugal this season too,based on their performance so far and they even have made a couple of false steps,meaning they will not make anymore in the upcoming games.

I happen to think that Benfica wins, and Sporting and Porto draw - but maybe that's just the heart speaking. 

Seriously now, I think that Benfica is entering a phase of growth and presenting better football, they just have to fine-tune their aim better. In that sense, I think they are in a better position to win than Braga. Although Braga is always a very difficult team to beat, even though statistically Benfica tends to be successful.

In the case of Sporting and Porto, I honestly can't make a prediction, it will be a game in which any result is possible.

This round looks great and it looks like the top 4 teams divided only by 3 points between all of them are facing each other during this weekend.I don't know who will win but I believe both Porto and Benfica are in super high form as they both won their game in the Champions League while Braga looked like a team not capable of fighting there and as such I am afraid they will be one of the losing team during this weekend.For Sporting I don't know what to say about them,their form is often volatile,sometimes doing more than expected and sometimes doing far less than expected,a team difficult to read on how it will behave on the next game so any result can be expected from them.

Sporting indeed have capacity to handle the demands of multiple competitions. Their lead in the domestic league and progression in the Europa League show their overall competence and ability to balance priorities effectively. Sporting being consistant is the big reason of their ability to maintain the top position in the league. That is a testament to the team's overall performance and resilience throughout the season.

Sporting's recent struggles in big games against Guimaraes and Benfica give them a hit to have realism to assess their areas where improvements can be made. Recognizing shortcomings is a crucial step towards addressing and overcoming challenges. They need to anticipate the competitiion against Porto, Benfica, and Braga who are able to give them close pursuits that add intensity to the title race. The upcoming match against Porto becomes a pivotal moment, because it offers Sporting an opportunity to break a longstanding streak and potentially reshape their home game dynamics against a tough rival.

This round we will have two big games: Braga vs Benfica and Sporting vs Porto. Who will win?

MATCH DAY 14:
^{15.12. 20:15} Farense vs Estrela Amadora
^{16.12. 15:30} Rio Ave vs Vizela
^{16.12. 18:00} Arouca vs Gil Vicente
^{16.12. 20:30} Boavista vs Vit. Guimarães
^{17.12. 15:30} Chaves vs Casa Pia
^{17.12. 15:30} Moreirense vs Portimonense
^{17.12. 18:00} Famalicão vs Estoril
^{17.12. 20:30} Braga vs Benfica
^{18.12. 20:15} Sporting vs Porto
_{Info: day.month. time (Lisbon time)}