Benfica v Porto: 17/2 Bet Builder in CardFest

• O Classico one of the great fixtures for cards

• Player card market makes great appeal

• Back 17/2 Bet Builder double

Benfica v Porto
Friday 29 September, 20:15

For a cards punter, nothing gets the juices flowing like Portugal's O Classico.

Boca v Palmeiras certainly let us down on Thursday but if there's any fixture guaranteed to supply cards, then surely it is this one.

Across a 16-match study period, every match has seen 50+ booking points (that's 10 for a yellow card and 25 for a red), while both teams 20+ booking points has also landed every time.

Ten of the 16 games have seen 90+ booking points and there's been a red card in eight.

Sadly, match and team cards markets aren't available at time of writing but it's fair to say we're expecting a few players to go into referee Joao Pinheiro's notebook - the official showed 12 cards in his only previous game involving these two.

Leg 1: Orkun Kokcu to be shown a card

Therefore, it's definitely worth delving into the player 'to be shown a card' market.

Unsurprisingly there are some short prices about here - two players are odds-on - but there's also some value to be had and it's not hard to get a decent multiple price.

I'm going for a Bet Builder double by backing a player from each side.

For the hosts, Orkun Kokcu looks a prime candidate for a card and I'm surprised to see him available at 21/10.

He's had tallies of nine and 10 across the last two seasons and has already been carded when these two sides met in the season-opening Supertaca.

The 25million euros summer signing from Feyenoord notably had a great card record against Ajax in the Netherlands, receiving one in three of five matches between the great Dutch rivals.

The Turkish midfielder makes the cut.

Leg 2: Joao Mario (Porto) to be shown a card

On the Porto side, I'm going with right-back Joao Mario - it's worth me pointing our straight away there's also a Joao Mario in Benfica's squad so make sure you back the right one! They are clearly marked in Betfair's market.

He's been booked in two of six starts so far this term and picked up seven cards in 28 last season.

Crucially here he's going up against Rafa Silva, one of the Portuguese league's star men so far in 2023/24 - he's scored or assisted in every game.

Rafa loves to drift to the left and run at opponents. He's already the third most-fouled player in the division and so it's not hard to see someone going in the book for a foul on him in this game.

Joao Mario looks a strong candidate.

The double pays around 17/29.50.

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