Benfica battle wounded Dragons and can do double to punish Porto

The Stadium of Light, in Lisbon not Sunderland, hosts an O Classico encounter live on ESPN that could effectively ensure Benfica retain their Portuguese Primeira Liga title against Porto.

Jorge Jesus’ Eagles, 13/10 favourites with Coral for victory, have beaten the Dragons 2-0 (11/1 for that result) in two of their last three meetings, so look a tempting bet, not least because the Oporto outfit were humbled by Bayern Munich in their previous outings.

Leading a Champions League quarter-final 3-1 after the first leg, Porto were pulverized when brought back to Bayern’s Allianz Arena, who hit them for six to advance 7-4 on aggregate.

There is a lot to like about Julen Lopetegui’s team despite their defeat, and the Dragons are 2/1 chances to respond to that Munich mauling by moving level on points with Benfica with a win.

Draws (12/5 here) are unusual in this fixture between two of Portugal’s three most famous football clubs, but when they do occur the result is often 2-2, which is a 16/1 shot.

Punters shall see the top Primeira Liga defences in action here, and Porto clearly missed their suspended Brazilian full back duo of the departing Danilo and Alex Sandro as their European adventure ended.

There are, however, some in-form forwards to watch and pile money on too. Colombia and Dragons danger man Jackson Martinez, consistently linked with Arsenal, has netted in both of his two starts since returning from injury, and is the league’s leading marksman on 17.

Visitors Porto need him to add to his seasonal tally of 28 across all competitions. Anytime odds of 19/10 are firmed up by Martinez’s personal record of three in eight against the Eagles, while for two goals or more he is a 7/1 shot.