Porto vs Liverpool
UEFA Champions League
Date: Wednesday, 14th February 2018
Kick-off at 19:45 UK/ 20:45 CET
Venue: Estadio do Dragao (PortoPorto come with the reputation of a solid home side, but they are not devoid of occasional slumps. This season, they started the group phase with a surprise 1-3 defeat at home to eventual group winners Besiktas, but clawed their way back with the pair of home wins against Leipzig and Monaco. Their away record in the competition is not the best, so Liverpool have the better chance to see-off the tie over the two legs.
The Reds had a comfortable ride so far with Sevilla being the only side that caused them some trouble in the group stages. Klopp’s men finished top of the group eventually and scored a massive 23 goals, 14 of those came in the pair of 7-0 mauling of Maribor and Spartak Moscow.
Porto vs Liverpool: Head-to-head
The all four head-to-head meetings between Liverpool and Porto happened in the 21st century and the Reds are unbeaten with 2 wins and 2 draws. Both wins came at home, while the trips to Porto resulted in stalemates.
Historically, Porto had struggled against clubs from the English Premier League. Their overall record is a humble 8 wins-8 draws-18 losses from 38 encounters. Yet, the home record look pretty decent after bagging 8 wins and 6 draws from 17, while suffering 3 defeats.
Meanwhile, Liverpool’s record against Portuguese clubs is a decent one with 8 wins, 5 draws and 5 losses from 18 matches. However, they had won only of the 9 in visits to Portugal; drew 3 and lost 4.
Porto vs Liverpool: Prediction
Porto is one of the most consistent home sides in Europe and their record this season is 16 wins, 2 draws and 1 loss from 19 matches in all competitions. However, they often fail to live up to the expectation once they reach the knockout phase of Champions League.
Last time, they were knocked out by eventual runners up Juventus and two seasons ago by Bayern Munich. So, they do have issues while going against elite teams and Klopp’s Liverpool can be categorized as a side of top quality.
Therefore, Liverpool to win has to be the top pick here, while defensive vulnerabilities at both teams produce 3 or more goals at full-time.
Porto vs Liverpool: Bet Tips
Liverpool to win at 2.30 odds has to be a banker bet.
While, good value can be found by backing ‘Both teams to Score and Over 2.5 goals
