Football Bet of the Day: Powerhouses of Portugal can produce goal-fest

Thursday night sees two giants of the Liga Portugal come to head in the semi-finals of the Taca de Portugal, as Sporting host Benfica in the first-leg of the Derby de Lisboa (KO, 20:45).

Both sides are jostling for dominance at the summit of the league table, with Sporting just two points behind leaders Benfica with a game in hand and a seven-point gap to third-placed Porto.

With a place in the final up for grabs, and neither side winning the coveted trophy since 2019, this should be an entertaining affair and a goal-heavy meeting could be on the cards.

Meetings between Sporting and Benfica have rarely disappointed, with 27 goals scored across their last seven meetings in all competitions, averaging over three goals a game.

Benfica have edged the head-to-head record over this spell, winning three of these seven and losing twice, and also won the bragging rights in their most recent league meeting back in November, where injury-time goals from Joao Neves and Casper Tengstedt earned a 2-1 victory for the Eagles.

However, they were arguably fortunate to come away from this fixture with all three points, with Sporting’s first-half lead undone by a sending off to central defender Goncalo Inacio for two bookable offences.

Roger Schmidt’s men have been in phenomenal form since this victory, winning 15 of their 21 games in all competitions since and losing just once - a penalties defeat to Estoril in the League Cup - as they chase a third consecutive league title under the German.

Sporting have been equally impressive since their agonisingly late defeat to their bitter rivals, winning 15 of their last 20 across league and cup obligations.

Ruben Amorim’s side have been the entertainers of the Liga Portugal this season, leading the goalscoring chart with 63, and this combined with home advantage may give them the edge.

The form of Swedish striker Viktor Gyokeres has been pivotal in keeping the Lions in the title race, with the 25-year-old netting 30 goals in 33 games in all competitions - five of these coming in the Taca de Portugal.

Gyokeres has netted 10 goals in his last 10 games, including in each of his last two, and will be expected to lead the line against Benfica alongside Pedro Goncalves, who leads the assist charts for the Lions in the league with nine.

The Eagles also possess plenty of firepower up top, scoring 58 goals in the league this season, and they have their own star in attack in Rafa Silva.

The 30-year-old has registered 23 goal contributions in the league this season, including 11 assists, and will be expected to be in and around the goals on Thursday.

Sporting may have enough to claim victory in this encounter, but Benfica have more than enough talent to cause issues for the Lions’ defence and should be able to get on the scoresheet, albeit in defeat.

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