The 11th round of fixtures got underway last night with an easy win for Guimaraes away to newcomers Olhanense. The action continues today with 2 matches including the Lisbon derby between Sporting and Benfica.

Nacional De Madeira vs Naval.

 Nacional host Naval at the Estadio da Madeira hoping to extend their unbeaten home record of 5 games. In their last league outing they defeated Leixoes 4-2 away in a game where their opponents had been reduced to 9 men at some point in the match. Conversely, they struggled to overcome 2nd Division Fatima in the Cup and needed a penalty shoot-out. Midfielder Micael is doubtful.
 Naval suffered an expected loss in the last round when they went down 0-1 away to Benfica at the Da Luz. Nevertheless, they stood their ground and didn’t lose without a fight. On Sunday they found themselves trailing 0-2 at home to Gil Vicente in the Cup but managed to get an equalizer in the 93rd minute. They went on to win the game in extra time. Excluded from the squad are forward Ouattara, midfielder Lazaroni, defender Tiago, midfielder Davide, forward bellagra and midfielder Hauw.

Selection: Nacional are a much better team and should win given Naval’s absentees. I think this game is a banker at odds above 1.50. Home win.

Sporting Lisbon vs Benfica.

 The match of the round takes place at the Estadio Jose Alvalade between the capitals’ heavyweight teams in Sporting and Benfica. After the resignation of Paulo Bento, the coaching reigns have been picked up by Carlos Carvalhal, who had just left Maritimo a short while ago. Life is tough at the moment for Sporting as they are 11 points adrift of the top after 10 league games. The new coach made his debut last Sunday in the Cup when they defeated Pescadores 4-1. Forward Yannick, winger Marques and central defender Tonel are out.
 Benfica were knocked out of the Cup last Sunday when they lost 0-1 at home to Guimaraes, who were much hungrier to qualify. In league action they scored an anxious 1-0 win against Naval and continue to head the top of the table. During the week they will also meet BATE Borisov in the Europa League. Central defender Luisao and midfielder Martins are unavailable.

Selection: This is a difficult game and I was surprised to see the visitors installed as favourites with the odds. It’s better to sit back and enjoy the game without any bet. ΝΟ ΒΕΤ