Primeira Liga Matchday 3 Odds & Picks: Porto vs Maritimo, Benfica vs Farense & Portimonense vs Sporting Lisbon

• Matchday 3 in Portugal’s Primeira Liga kicks off Friday at 2:00 pm ET when Moreirense host Boavista
• Portugal’s top clubs are both firm home favorites, with Porto (-715) entertaining Maritimo on Saturday and Benfica (-910) receiving struggling Farense at the Estadio da Luz on Sunday; both are set to kick off at 1:30 pm
• Get all the odds and best bets for Matchday 3 in Portugal’s top division below

With Benfica and Porto — along with a surprising Santa Clara team — both off to 2-0-0 starts in 2020-21, it’s easy to see the trend of previous seasons repeating itself in Portugal’s top division.

Home games for the two against virtually anyone are an automatic win; Porto went 15-1-1 (90.2 pts %) and Benfica 12-2-3 (74.5 pts %) at home last season. Porto’s lone home defeat was against third-place Braga, while Benfica’s three defeats were against Porto (the eventual champions), Braga and an aberration against Santa Clara.

The point is, Porto should be seen as a serious lock at home against Maritimo on Saturday — and Benfica appear to be a mortal lock at home against newly-promoted Farense, who have yet to score in the league and are winless to start the season.

Matchday 3’s closing contest also provides intrigue, as Ruben Amorim’s Sporting will look to cement themselves as the early-season No. 3 in Portugal against Portimonense on Sunday (4:00 pm ET).

Primeira Liga Matchday 3 Odds

All odds taken Sep. 30 at DraftKings

Pick 1: Porto vs Maritimo

Porto (2-0-0) have been nothing short of dominant to begin the season, scoring 3-1 and 5-0 wins over Braga and Boavista — both considered top-half teams — and are expected to brush aside Maritimo (1-0-1) without much trouble.

Factor in the Dragoes claiming 90% of possible home points last season, plus Maritimo’s historic road record of 11-10-31 (27%) dating back to 2017-18, and this quickly becomes a wash. In head-to-head play, Porto has not dropped points at home against Maritimo in the league since 2008.

The last three meetings between the two clubs at the Estadio do Dragao have ended: 1-0 FCP, 3-0 FCP and 3-1 FCP.

Given Porto’s red-hot form, back the hosts to fill the net; consider an asian handicap if you don’t want to take on too much risk.

Pick: Porto -1.75 (-159) or -2 (-118)

Pick 2: Benfica vs Farense

The question is not if, but rather how many times Benfica (2-0-0) will score as they entertain lowly Farense (0-0-2) on Sunday.

While Jorge Jesus’ aguias are certainly in flux — Ruben Dias completed his move to Manchester City, with veteran Nicolas Otamendi joining Benfica in return, and dynamic attacker Carlos Vinicius reportedly set to join Tottenham on loan — the talent gulf between Sunday’s competitors remains stark.

Farense will hope the addition of defender Ricardo Ferreira (ex-Belenenses, -Braga) will help shore up a backline that has looked vulnerable at times against mediocre competition; goalscoring is likely to continue to be an issue for the Leoes de Faro, as frontman Nikola Stojiljkovic has now managed just two goals in his last 26 Liga appearances.

Note: Benfica have scored seven goals in their first two matches to begin the campaign.

All signs point to a rude awakening for the newly-promoted visitors — with plenty of goals on offer.

PICK: O 3.5 (+102)

✍️ Welcome, @Notamendi30! #WeAreBenficapic.twitter.com/YZpXp3mI0c

— SL Benfica (@slbenfica_en) September 29, 2020

Pick 3: Portimonense vs Sporting Lisbon

Portimonense (0-1-1) avoided the relegation man’s blade narrowly last season by the administrative relegation of Setubal; unsurprisingly, there has been significant squad turnover and the Algarve-based club appears destined for a relegation battle again in 2020-21.

Sporting (1-0-0) have begun their campaign strongly despite numerous COVID-positive test and the subsequent rejigging of their early-season schedule; the Leoes brushed aside Pacos Ferreira 2-0 in their opener on September 27, and have not conceded in their last three competitive matches dating back to last season.

Sunday’s visitors will be on short rest, having played Austria’s LASK Linz late Thursday, but should have enough to see off Portimonense — one of the worst attacking teams in Portugal last season.

PICK: Sporting to win to nil (+235)