We are less than a week away from the start of the 2025–26 Liga Portugal season. Sporting CP are entering this season as the two-time defending champions after securing their 21st title. The transfer window is heating up in Portugal with a lot of big transfers, so it will be another exciting season to watch.
The 2025–26 Primeira Liga full schedule is now available, with the tournament starting on August 8, 2025, and ending on May 17, 2026. The opening matchup will be between the defending champions, Sporting Lisbon, and Casa Pia at the latter’s stadium. Benfica won’t play the opening fixture in the new season, as their game has been postponed due to their UCL qualification matchup against Nice.
| ℹ️ Tournament: | Primeira Liga Season 2025/26 (Liga Portugal Betclic) |
| ⚽️ Venues: | Stadiums Across Portugal |
| 🗓️ Dates: | 8th August 2025 to 17th May 2026 |
The Primeira Liga is the highest football league in Portugal, and it works with a promotion and relegation system with Liga Portugal 2. This will be the 12th season using the 18-team format, as the team with the most points at the end of the season wins the title. The bottom two teams get relegated directly to Liga Portugal 2, while the 16th-placed team plays in the relegation play-offs.
AVS Futebol SAD survived relegation after beating Vizela in the relegation match. Tondela and Alverca got promoted to the Liga Portugal Betclic this season, while Farense and Boavista got relegated to the Liga Portugal 2.
This will be the 92nd edition of the Primeira Liga Portugal, as the league was first established in 1934, with Porto winning the first-ever title. There are only five clubs that have won the Liga Portugal trophy in history, as Benfica are still on top with 38 titles, and Porto are relatively close with 30 titles. Sporting CP have won 21 championships, while Belenenses and Boavista have won the title only once each.
Here’s a list of the last five Primeira Liga winners, with Sporting Lisbon winning three of the last five editions, while Benfica and Porto won one championship each in that period:
Here’s a look at the 2025–26 Primeira Liga Portugal winner odds and the favorites to win the title from the best bookmakers for football:
Sporting Lisbon are still slight favorites to win the title, even after Viktor Gyokeres left to join Arsenal. The Swedish striker scored 39 league goals last season, which was more than what half of the teams in the competition scored, so his loss will be huge and can definitely impact the team’s offense negatively. The Lions won back-to-back seasons, and they will have good chances of winning the three-peat due to their great defense.
Benfica are going into the new season with a lot of confidence, having beaten Sporting CP in the Super Cup last week. The Eagles have been extremely active in the market, acquiring Franjo Ivanovic, Richard Rios, and Amar Dedic, and they also sold Alvaro Carreras in a €50 million deal to Real Madrid. Benfica finished second in Liga Portugal last season, just two points behind Sporting Lisbon. With an even better squad, they will aim to win it this time.
The Dragons have been away from the Liga Portugal title race in the last couple of seasons, but they should have a much better season this time after their transfers. They have acquired Jan Bednarek, Alberto Costa, Victor Froholdt, and the free agent Luuk de Jong. This will be the Liga Portugal season debut for their new coach, Francesco Farioli, so hopes are high for the Dragons.
The Braguistas have never won the Primeira Liga title before, and it’s very unlikely that they will win it this season. SC Braga finished in fourth place in four of the last five Liga Portugal seasons behind the big three. They signed Barcelona’s talented player, Pau Victor, in this transfer window, as well as acquiring Mario Dorgeles from Nordsjælland. Braga won two Taca da Liga titles and one Taca de Portugal title in the last five years, so they are more focused on the cups, but their Liga Portugal odds for the victory look pretty attractive.
Santa Clara finished in fifth place in a good season after their promotion to Liga Portugal. They qualified for the upcoming UEFA Conference League qualifiers with that result, which is huge for the club. They would need a miracle to win the Primeira Liga this season, but they are on the right path right now.
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We like the odds of Benfica winning the title on the online betting sites in Portugal this season. The Eagles have improved their squad a lot, and they have better depth now. They broke the club record with the signing of Richard Rios from Palmeiras, while also signing Franjo Ivanovic from Union SG in another big transfer, so they are making it clear that they are going for the title this season and aiming to do well in Europe too.
The Eagles are coming off a great performance in the Club World Cup, having beaten Bayern Munich to top their group and lost to the eventual champions, Chelsea, in the round of 16 in extra time.
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Luis Suarez signed with Sporting Lisbon last week as a replacement for Viktor Gyokeres. The Colombian striker shone with Almeria last season and scored 31 goals and eight assists, so he should be the main striker for the team, particularly with Conrad Harder out of form. This is one of Sporting’s favorite opponents in the league lately, having beaten them in seven consecutive games and scored 24 goals in those matches, so Suarez will have a great opening matchup to score his first goal for the Lions.
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Porto and Guimaraes’ matchup always has a lot of goals, as both teams have scored in four of their last six head-to-head games. The Conquerors have scored in 11 of their last 13 matches, and they have looked good in the pre-season so far, while Porto have scored in 13 of their last 16 matches and should score at home.
There are several strong teams in Liga Portugal this season, making the title race highly competitive, and we will go with Benfica to win it. Make sure to use our 25/26 Primeira Liga season predictions and bet on them at the betting sites in Portugal with the best football odds to have more fun watching the event.
