Primeira Liga Winner Odds 24/25: Can Sporting buck the Portuguese league title trend?

Last season’s Primeira Liga continued the trend as, for the seventh-straight year, a club failed to defend its title. Sporting Lisbon were crowned champions for the second time in the Ruben Amorim era, leaving 2023/24 winners Benfica and 30-time conquerors FC Porto in the dust.

Os Tres Grandes – or the ‘Big Three’ – are all contenders for the upcoming campaign, at least according to Betfred’s Primeira Liga winner odds 24/25, which you can check out down below.

Football Odds

Benfica @ 6/4

Despite finishing 10 points off the champions last season, Benfica have been installed as favourites to lift the trophy in May 2025.

The most successful club in the league’s history having won 38 Primeira Liga titles, the Eagles will be confident of returning to the summit after a relatively stable summer transfer window thus far.

Benfica have sold 19-year-old Portugal international Joao Neves to Paris Saint-Germain for an initial £50m but received former Eagle Renato Sanches on loan in return, while Vangelis Pavlidis, the joint-top scorer in last season’s Dutch Eredivisie with 29 goals, has joined from AZ Alkmaar for £15.5m.

Other additions to the side include Alvaro Carreras, who spent a successful half-season loan at the club from Manchester United earlier this year, Heidenheim defender Jan-Niklas Beste, and Mainz midfielder Leandro Barreiro.

It remains to be seen whether Angel Di Maria returns to Lisbon, but even without the legendary Argentine attacker, Benfica should have enough to at least challenge for the title.

Benfica’s biggest problem in the league last season, at least compared to Sporting, was a lack of goals. The Eagles scored 77 times in the 2023/24 Primeira Liga, 19 fewer than Sporting whose Swedish striker Viktor Gyokeres struck 29 times to run away with the Golden Boot.

Rafa Silva was Benfica’s top scorer in the league with 14 goals followed by Di Maria (nine), but both are no longer contracted with the club after Rafa Silva left on a free to Turkish giants Besiktas.

Benfica supporters will be pinning their hopes on Pavlidis to keep up with the likes of Gyokeres at Sporting, but if he doesn’t replicate the form he showed in the Netherlands, it could be a long season for the Eagles.

Sporting @ 7/4

Sporting hadn’t won the Portuguese league title for 19 years before Amorim inspired the Lions to success in 2021, and after lifting the trophy for the second time in four seasons earlier this year, it looked like the Lisbon club would be waving goodbye to their legendary manager.

Amorim was heavily linked with a move to the Premier League, chiefly Liverpool and West Ham United, but for various reasons, has remained at Sporting.

His next task is to secure back-to-back league titles, something not achieved in Portugal since Benfica in 2017.

Keeping hold of Gyokeres has been of paramount importance and, at the time of writing, the 26-year-old looks set to stick around for another year at least.

Sebastian Coates and Paulinho were headline departures from the club, the former having served with distinction as club captain and the latter scoring 15 times in the league last season.

Sporting have replaced Coates with 20-year-old Belgium centre-back Zeno Debast, while goalkeeper Vladan Kovacevic has been brought in to compete with Franco Israel for the number one jersey after Antonio Adan’s exit.

The future of Marcus Edwards remains unclear, however, with Crystal Palace linked with the 25-year-old Englishman before moving for Marseille winger Ismaila Sarr.

Regardless, Sporting’s spine looks strong with Debast, Ousmane Diomande, Ricardo Esgaio, Eduardo Quaresma and Jerry St. Juste all options in the centre of defence behind a midfield of Hidemasa Morita, Pedro Goncalves and new captain Morten Hjulmand.

Furthermore, if Gyokeres can replicate last season’s goalscoring exploits, Sporting have a huge chance of retaining the title.

FC Porto @ 15/8

After six seasons in charge which yielded three Primeira Liga titles, Sergio Conceicao finally called time on his tenure at FC Porto in June.

The 49-year-old has since been replaced by his assistant Vitor Bruno, who has become the first manager appointed by new president Andre Villas-Boas.

Bruno’s task is clear – to take the Dragons back to the top of Portuguese football after two title-less seasons.

Ironically, the only signing made so far this summer has been the permanent capture of Conceicao’s son, Francisco, who spent the 2023/24 campaign on loan at the Dragao from Dutch giants Ajax.

There have been a couple of big-name exits, however, with Pepe and Mehdi Taremi (Inter Milan) both leaving on free transfers.

Porto’s activity, or lack of activity, in the transfer market thus far doesn’t exactly inspire confidence heading into the new season under an inexperienced manager.

The Dragons finished 18 points behind champions Sporting last season, and eight points off runners-up Benfica, and they’ve shown few signs that they can close the gap in the upcoming campaign.

Sporting Braga @ 25/1

No club outside the Big Three has won the Primeira Liga since Boavista in 2000/01, and it would be a huge surprise if that stranglehold was to be lifted anytime soon.

But if you’re feeling ambitious, Sporting Braga are next in line at 25/1 after showing remarkable consistency in recent years. The Archbishops haven’t finished outside the top four since 2017, achieving a couple of third-place finishes in that period, too.

Braga occupied their familiar fourth spot last season but were only four points behind Porto and have made several summer signings including Bright Arrey-Mbi, Thiago Helguera and Amine El Ouazzani.

However, they’ve also suffered some big-name exits, notably Rodrigo Gomes to Wolverhampton Wanderers and Alvaro Djalo to Athletic Club, so fourth may be the best they can hope for again this term.

Primeira Liga Odds

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