Sporting CP vs. Sporting Braga 7/31/21 Portuguese Super Cup Soccer Pick, Odds, and Prediction

Sporting CP and Sporting Braga are clashing at Estadio Municipal de Aveiro in the Portuguese Super Cup. Sporting CP has won the Primeira Liga title last season ahead of Porto, and it was absolutely deserved. Braga has ended in 4^th place last season, but they have won the Portuguese Cup against Benfica.

Sporting was the best team in Portugal last season, on both ends, and their consistency has brought them the Primeira Liga title with 5 points ahead of Porto. As of right now, there aren’t any notable arrivals or departures in this club, and that is good news because their chemistry will remain intact. In the preseason, Sporting has played 4 games, and they have won 3, while 1 game ended in a draw. the good news for Sporting is they were able to keep 1 clean sheet while scoring at least 2 goals in each of those 4 games. Sporting has incredible depth on both ends, and their offense has been firing on all cylinders lately, but they will need to improve their defense if they want to defend the title this season. Sporting has some fantastic players in their roster, but none of them are superstars, and that is what I think allowed Sporting to win the title last season, and that is what kept them consistent throughout the entire season.

Braga is also a fantastic team, and with each season they are getting close to Benfica and Porto. In their 6 preseason games, Braga has won 3 games while the other 3 ended in a draw. Defensively, Braga has shown some good things in the preseason where they were able to keep 2 cleans sheets, but they have also been solid offensively. Braga has scored at least 1 goal in 5 of their 6 preseason games. As I’ve mentioned, Braga has ended last season in 4^th place with 64 points, 12 points behind Benfica, and they will be playing in the Europa League this season. Braga has brought a few good players in the offseason, but they have also sold a couple of players that were important to their game last season. Honestly, I personally don’t expect Braga to be close to the top of the Primeira Liga this season as well, but they can certainly get to that 3^rd place that will get them to the Champions League qualifications.

Braga hasn’t won any of their last 3 games against Sporting, but they haven’t lost any of their last 10 games. Both teams have done a solid job in the preseason, but this is their first competitive game in a while, which is why I will take the over on this one just because the defenses are not set yet.