Portugal’s top flight has eighteen clubs and 306 matches a season, and for card bettors it’s the most interesting league in Europe. It shows more yellow cards and more red cards than any of the other 17 leagues in our data. This page explains what that does to the card lines and how the rest of the league’s numbers look. The table below holds the league’s tips from an outside prediction provider, shown as published.
The figures come from 1,530 Primeira Liga matches between 2021/22 and 2025/26.
Related Leagues
| Liga Portugal | Belgian Pro League | Eredivisie Predictions |
| Celtic, Rangers and the Rest of Scottish Football | Austrian Bundesliga | Serie A's Weak Home Edge and Falling Goals |
Pt1
Sporting CP
Vitória
21/4
11/1
no
no
no
Pt1
FC Alverca
Estrela Amadora
11/5
9/4
no
no
no
Pt1
Académico Viseu
Santa Clara
11/5
5/4
no
no
no
Pt1
Rio Ave
Porto
15/4
7/20
no
no
no
Pt1
Nacional Madeira
GD Estoril
12/5
17/10
no
no
no
Pt1
FC Arouca
Moreirense FC
9/4
9/4
no
no
no
Pt1
FC Famalicão
Marítimo
–
–
Pt1
Sporting Braga
Gil Vicente
11/4
9/2
no
no
no
Pt1
Casa Pia AC
SL Benfica
9/2
1/4
no
no
no
Pt1
GD Estoril
FC Famalicão
9/4
27/20
no
no
no
Pt1
Marítimo
Casa Pia AC
9/4
61/20
no
no
no
Pt1
Vitória
FC Arouca
12/5
3/1
no
no
no
Pt1
Estrela Amadora
Sporting CP
15/4
3/10
no
no
no
Pt1
Porto
FC Alverca
19/4
14/1
no
no
no
Pt1
SL Benfica
Académico Viseu
8/1
18/1
no
no
no
Pt1
Moreirense FC
Sporting Braga
3/1
1/2
no
no
no
Pt1
Gil Vicente
Rio Ave
11/5
5/2
no
no
no
Pt1
Santa Clara
Nacional Madeira
2/1
15/4
no
no
no
More Predictions
The card league
The average match had 5.30 yellow cards, against 4.14 across all 18 leagues. Over 3.5 landed in 75.7% of matches, over 4.5 in 60.1% and over 5.5 in 45.2%.
| Measure | Liga Portugal | All 18 leagues |
|---|---|---|
| Yellow cards a match | 5.30 | 4.14 |
| Over 4.5 yellows | 60.1% | 40.3% |
| Match with a red card | 24.7% | 17.2% |
| Fouls a match | 28.1 | 24.3 |
| Fouls per yellow | 5.29 | 5.87 |
A red card appeared in nearly one match in four. It takes only 5.29 fouls to earn a yellow, and there are more fouls than usual, 28.1 a match. Both push the card count up.
Home sides collect 48.4% of the yellows here, against 46.6% across all 18 leagues, so the cards are spread a little more evenly between the two teams.
Goals and BTTS
Goals aren’t the story. Matches averaged 2.65 goals and over 2.5 landed in 51.0% of matches, roughly the same as the 18-league average. BTTS was lower than in most leagues, at 49.3%, and it swung from season to season: 53%, 43%, 54%, 49% and 48%.
The reason is the away side’s goals. Visitors failed to score in 32.2% of matches and the home side in 25.0%.
Home, away and covers
Home teams won 43.3% of matches, 24.8% were drawn and away teams won 31.9%. The covers landed at 68.0% for home win or draw, 56.7% for away win or draw and 75.2% for either side winning.
Shots on target
Primeira Liga teams had 8.38 shots on target a match, a little below the 18-league average of 8.51, and 31.6% of them became goals, the same as the average. The side with more shots on target won 60.8% of matches, drew 23.9% and lost 15.3%.
So the goals are ordinary and so are the shots. Everything unusual about this league happens in the discipline numbers, not in the attack.
Corners
Corners are around average at 9.90 a match. Over 9.5 landed in 50.8% of matches and over 10.5 in 39.7%. Home teams took 53.6% of them, the lowest home share of any league in the data, which means away sides are more involved here than usual.
First half and turnarounds
The first half averaged 1.18 goals, and the break was level in 41.4% of matches. The most common half-time/full-time results were a home lead and home win (25.6%), an away lead and away win (17.9%) and level then level (14.4%). Turnarounds were uncommon at 4.71%, about one in twenty-one.
The big three
Portugal has a famous top three, and the tables show it. In 2024/25 Sporting won with 82 points, Benfica had 80 and Porto 71.
In 2025/26 Porto finished top on 88 points, ahead of Sporting on 82 and Benfica on 80. The tables come from the results in our data.
Porto’s record is unusual in one respect. They drew only 13.5% of their 170 league matches in the data, among the lowest draw rates of any team with 150 or more games. Their matches rarely end level.
Five rules for Liga Portugal tips
- Start with the cards. Over 3.5 yellows has landed three times in four.
- Check the line before you back the over. The standard lines are set with this in mind.
- Don’t expect many goals. The league is average, with a low BTTS rate.
- Remember the away teams’ goal problem. They score in only two matches out of three.
- Look at Porto’s matches for 12. They drew only 13.5% of theirs.
Common mistakes
The first is using card lines from another league. 3.5 is a low line here, and 5.5 is the one that’s close to a coin toss.
The second is backing BTTS yes because the clubs are famous. The league’s own rate is 49.3%.
The third is ignoring reds when your bet counts them. One match in four has one.
Questions people ask
How many yellow cards are there in a Liga Portugal match? 5.30 on average, the highest of the 18 leagues in our data.
How often is there a red card? In 24.7% of matches.
How many goals per match? 2.65.
How often do both teams score? 49.3% of the time.
How many clubs are in the league? Eighteen.
Which line is the coin toss? Over 5.5 yellows, at 45.2%. Over 4.5 landed 60.1% of the time, so it’s the more common choice.
Do away teams get more cards? They get slightly more than home teams, but less of the total than elsewhere: 51.6% of the yellows here against 53.4% across all 18 leagues.
Where are other leagues? See La Liga and Scotland.
Tips are estimates and not promises. You must be 18 or over to bet, and a stake should be money you can afford to lose.