Football Bet of the Day: Eagles to soar

• Benfica outstanding at home

• Portimonense have lost five of last seven on the road

Benfica v Portimonense
Friday January 06, 19:00

Braga did us proud last night, as their storming 4-0 win at Santa Clara covered the Asian Handicap with room to spare. We'll stay in Portugal, because tonight the league leaders Benfica are up against Portimonense, and I fancy Roger Schmidt's men will return to winning ways.

Given that Benfica's Eagles have flown to the top of the Primeira and won their Champions League group ahead of PSG, their results since the World Cup break have been disappointing. They went out of the Taca da Liga in the group stage, and in the league they were beaten 3-0 at Braga. The absence of key midfielder Enzo Fernandez has done them no favours - the Argentinean World Cup winner celebrated that victory longer than the club wanted or expected, and has clearly had his head turned by interest from Chelsea.

That said, Benfica's home form is exceptional. The Lisbon giants have won 12 of their last 13 home matches, and the only exception was a creditable 1-1 draw with PSG. They have scored at least three goals in nine of those 13 outings.

Portimonense lost two of their three group games in the Taca da Liga, and in the Primeira Liga they have lost five of their last seven. On the road, Paulo Sergio's team have lost three of the last four, including a 4-0 hammering at Sporting.

I'll use the Sportsbook's Bet Builder here to back Benfica to win, Over 2.5 Goals and Over 8.5 Corners at 2.021/1. Benfica's games in the league are averaging 10.7 corners, and they are racking up an average of 8.1, so they are nearly clearing the hurdle we've placed on their own.