Primeira Liga Matchday 2 Odds & Picks: Benfica Host Moreirense, Porto Visit Boavista

• Matchday 2 in Portugal’s Primeira Liga kicks off Friday at 3:30 pm ET when Braga host Santa Clara
• Amongst the title favorites, Benfica are massive -715 favorites at home against Moreirense while Porto are steadily favored at -240 for their rivalry contest at Boavista
• Get all the odds and best bets for Matchday 2 in Portugal’s top division below

With slight favorites Benfica and top challenger Porto both off to strong starts last weekend, it appears Portugal’s Primeira Liga will once again be a two-horse race.

Benfica annihilated Famalicao 5-1, while Porto strode past Braga — widely expected to be the No. 3 team in Portugal this season — by a 3-1 scoreline.

Jorge Jesus’ Benfica are expected to waltz past Moreirense (Saturday, 1:30 pm ET), but Porto will need to be weary of their cross-town trip to Boavista (Saturday, 4:00 pm).

At the bottom of the table, Farense and Nacional square off in a battle of newly-promoted teams in the Algarve (Sunday, 10:30 am).

Primeira Liga Matchday 2 Odds

All odds taken  Sept 24 at DraftKings

Pick 1: Benfica vs Moreirense

After a jittery start to the season saw them knocked out of the Champions League by PAOK, Benfica began their league campaign with a strong 5-1 win at Famalicao.

Moreirense (1-0-0) have become something of a mid-table stalwart in Portugal in recent years, finishing sixth in 2018-19 and eighth last season, but the club’s record vs the big three has been mediocre; Benfica are 12-1-1 against Moreirense in league play since 2013, though the latter did earn a 1-1 draw in this fixture last March.

Benfica will be without young defensive midfielder Florentino, who was just loaned out to Monaco for the season and is expected to be sold at some point this season.

The reality remains that Benfica has Portugal’s best attack; veterans like Rafa and Seferovic have been surrounded with talent like Luca Waldschmidt and Darwin Nunez, offering Jorge Jesus multiple ways to slice and dice Portugal’s mid- and lower-table teams.

Pick: Benfica O 2.5 (-148)

Pick 2: Boavista vs Porto

While it’s certainly true that Boavista (0-1-0) would be viewed as a winnable ‘trap’ game in the past, it’s unlikely Primeira Liga teams will take them lightly this season following the acquisitions of veterans Adil Rami and Javi Garcia to bolster a young core that ground its way to a respectable mid-table finish last season.

Sergio Conceicao’s Porto (1-0-0) will have to be sharp on Saturday to earn all three points and extend their winning streak against the Panteras to 12 league matches.

The Dragoes have enjoyed near-unprecedented dominance over Boavista in league play, winning 11 of 12 league meetings since the latter returned to the top division in 2014 — and registering a clean sheet in 11 of those 12.

If last week’s six-goal affair at Nacional was any indication, Boavista have drastically altered their approach from last season (17th-ranked offense, 6th-ranked defense). With that said, expect Vasco Seabra’s team to set up more conservatively against the reigning champions this weekend.

PICK: U 2.5 (-104)

Pick 3: Farense vs Nacional

This season’s two promoted teams square off on Sunday, as Farense (0-0-1) entertain Nacional (0-1-0) with both looking to break into the win column in 2020-21.

Farense are back in Portugal’s top division after a 19-year absence and feature the type of squad you’d expect: A number of cast-offs from recently relegated sides Setubal (Braian Mansilla) and Desp. Aves (Claudio Falcao) have been stitched into a squad with other relegation battle veterans like goalkeeper Rogerio Defendi (ex-Boavista) and defender Hugo Seco (Academica, Feirense).

Nacional bring a bit more financial punch and top-division experience to the league, with players of a higher caliber such as Ruben Micael (ex-Braga, Porto), Bryan Rochez and Larry Azouni (Kortrijk) in the squad.

Both will likely find themselves in a dogfight to stay up this season, but Nacional’s squad has a bit more punch to it (as evidenced by their 3-3 draw vs Boavista last week) and we like them to earn a result.

Pick: Nacional or Draw (-155)