Benfica Lisbon v Porto Betting Tips [29 September 2023]

The first O Classico of the season comes in matchday seven of the Primeira Liga as third-place Benfica host second-place FC Porto. Defending champions Benfica have had a lukewarm start to the 2023/24 campaign. They lifted the Supertaca but would then lose the first game of the league season. The Eagles bounced back strongly by winning their next five consecutive Primeira Liga fixtures to put them just one point off leaders Sporting Lisbon. However, fans will be disappointed by the team losing in their Champions League group stage opener 2–0 at home to Salzburg. Benfica’s last match resulted in a 3-1 away win over Portimonense thanks to a penalty save and a David Neres goal to seal the three points. They’ll now return to the Estadio da Luz where they have yet to concede in their two league fixtures. 

FC Porto make the trip to the capital after a 2-1 home win over Gil Vicente thanks to a 91st minute winner by Canadian midfielder Stephen Eustaquio. Porto have been near perfect to start the season with six wins and one draw across all competitions since their Supertaca defeat to Benfica. They sit tied with leaders Sporting atop the domestic table are off to a winning start in a manageable Champions League group as well. The only blemish for Porto aside from the Supertaca loss was a 1-1 home draw with Arouca in the beginning of the month. Porto fans will be confident of their team pulling off a result against Benfica due to the team’s recent success in this fixture. Despite losing the Supertaca, Porto emerged victorious in four of the last six meetings between these two giants of Portuguese football.

This will be the first real test for both sides. With only two points separating title-winning Benfica and runners-up Porto last season, these derbies are always massively influential in the league outcome. Both teams come into this matchup in relatively good form, although the visitors will be the ones feeling slightly better about their start to the season. However, Benfica’s brilliance at the Estadio da Luz cannot be overlooked, especially given how they performed at this ground last year. This will likely be a passionate, tightly-contested affair but we lean towards the home team pulling out what would be an important three points. Our Benfica vs Porto prediction is for Benfica to win.