By
Quinn Allen
in the
Soccer
– Jan 15, 2021 6:18 a.m. PST
Matchday 14 brings one of the most anticipated games of the season: Porto v Benfica on Friday, Jan 15, starting at 4:00 p.m. EST at Estádio do Dragão. So far this season the two teams haven’t separated much from each other, with the goal difference slightly favoring the hosts.
Porto will confidently enter this meeting after a 2-0 victory in the Super Cup against Benfica in December.
Last year’s champions are in great shape right now. Porto have won 15 of their last 16 games and scored at least two goals in nine consecutive games. The Portuguese giants are taking a short break on Friday after playing in the League Cup on Tuesday. They buried Nacional 4-2 in extra time and had to play the full 120 minutes to secure a win.
Even so, Porto will aim to get a positive result against Benfica. In all honesty, nobody beat that side. They fought all their opponents and their last loss came in late October.
Midfielder Sergio Oliviera was absolutely clinical for the last third of this season. He has played twelve times in all competitions and counted four domestic assists. The strike duo of Mehdi Taremi and Moussa Marega have also been busy, scoring 16 goals.
Sergio Conceicao’s side have no shortage of attack threats as they continue to pursue Sporting Lisbon in first place, which are just four points clear. There is still a lot of football to play as Porto have yet another title in mind, but a positive result is a must against rivals on Friday. Conceicao’s squad will surely face solid Benfica defense.
It’s no secret that Benfica are considered one of the best clubs in Portugal. Although Jorge Jesus’ men didn’t lose in six league games, there were too many close calls. On matchday 13, Benfica beat Tondela 2-0 and scored the second goal in the last minutes of stoppage time.
The previous two games before this win were also poor performances. They took seventh place in Santa Clara and barely displaced 16th place in Portimonense. Basically, their form has not been where there is bound to be a clash with a club like Porto that destroys every side they encounter.
But more positive is that Benfica a convincing 4-0 win at Taca De Portugal Cup against Estrela Amadora who is a third team. Even so, it was a chance for Jesus’ attack to gain a foothold as striker Haris Seferovic scored his 10th goal of the season. The SC Freiburg loaner Luca Waldschmidt also found the end point and scored eight goals.
From these two to midfielder Pizzi, who also makes regular contributions in the last third, there is no shortage of talent in this team. Defensively, her backline was sharp and only conceded 13 goals. The question is, will the entire squad face the occasion in one of the most important games of the season against Porto? Only time can tell.
This is always a very entertaining game and it’s hard to predict who will emerge victorious. But frankly, Porto has been looking way too dominant here over the past few months. Even though both teams only have a two-day break on Friday, expect this to be still a well-played game.
They’re both defensively stable, but one attack hits all cylinders and the other doesn’t. I have no doubt that Benfica will soon find their form offensively but it won’t be against Porto. A two-goal win for the hosts is likely while their opponents remain goalless.
Quinn Allen is a sports journalist with a background and training in broadcast journalism (BCIT ’17). He writes on European football, basketball and baseball for numerous websites around the world.
Quinn Allen is a sports journalist with a background and training in broadcast journalism (BCIT ’17). He writes on European football, basketball and baseball for numerous websites around the world.
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