Game Preview: FC Porto vs. Benfica - Portuguese Primeira Liga - Sunday, September 20th, 2015



Portuguese Liga NOS - Matchup - FC Porto vs. Benfica - Season 2015/16 - Odds to winThe two most decorated Portuguese football clubs, Porto and Benfica, clash in the fifth round of the Portuguese Primeira Liga on Sunday, September 20th. This match is, as it is every year, crucial in the domestic title race.

In each of the last thirteen seasons it was one of these two clubs that won the league. Porto has won more in total, but the last two seasons Benfica came out on top. In Portugal they call this matchup O Classico for a reason.

This season so far, Porto and Sporting are at the top of the table with ten points each, followed by Benfica who have 9.

Every year these two sell their most prized assets to bigger clubs and every year they manage to reinvent themselves and stay competitive. This summer Porto parted with their star striker Jackson Martinez who went to Atletico Madrid for €35m. The club also sold their left back Alex Sandro for €26m to Juventus, and right back Danilo for €31.5m to Real Madrid. Porto went out and signed the legendary Real Madrid goalkeeper Iker Casillas and the unsettled Italian striker Dani Osvaldo who spent his last year at Boca Juniors. Both were free transfers. Porto invested €20m in bringing the twenty two year old defensive midfielder Giannelli Imbula from Olympique Marseille.

The other Portuguese talent factory, Benfica, had a similar summer transfer season as they earned €92m from player sales and spent €15m on new acquisitions. The biggest name that departed the club was Rodrigo who went to Valencia for €30m. The biggest arrival is Raul Jimenez who arrived from Atletico Madrid for €9m. The names that stand out the most on the current Benfica team sheet are the left winger Nicolas Gaitan, striker Kostas Mitroglou and the Brazilian goalkeeper Julio Cesar.

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The odds for the upcoming match at Estadio do Dragao are:

Porto: 1/1
Draw: 11/5
Benfica: 3/1

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The last time these two teams met in the league at Estadio do Dragao was in December 2014 and the score was 0-2 for the visitors.

Most recently, midweek in the UEFA Champions league, FC Porto drew with Dynamo Kyiv 2-2 away, while Benfica beat the Kazakhstani side Astana at home with the score of 2-0.

How will the two Portuguese giants measure up against each other on Sunday?

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Hare are a few other standout matches that are taking place this weekend:

Saturday:

Chelsea vs. Arsenal - EPL


Sunday:

Dortmund vs. Bayer Leverkusen - Bundesliga

Napoli vs. Lazio - Serie A

Marseille vs. Lyon - Ligue 1

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Enjoy the games everyone!