UEFA Champions League: Juventus vs. Porto Preview, Odds, Prediction

Juventus has no other option but to defeat FC Porto in tonight’s second leg of the UEFA Champions League Round of 16. Dragons have a 2-1 lead from the first event and aim to repeat Lyon’s sensation last year at Allianz Stadium. Back then, the French side eliminated Ronaldo and the boys, shocking them in their own house. The Old Lady’s players suggest that they learned the lesson back then, ruling out the possibility for such an outcome tonight. But this is the Champions League, and pretty much everything is possible.

Preview

Juventus (-210) is excellent at home, having nine wins and one draw in the past 10 games. But that is not all. Until the match against Lazio, which they’ve won 3-1, the Old Lady recorded seven consecutive clean sheets, preventing some pretty good teams from scoring during that stretch, such as the Serie A leaders, Inter, or AS Roma.

During the above-mentioned 10-contest stretch at Allianz Stadium, Juventus scored two or more goals in all but one event, which describes their power at home in the best possible way.

Andrea Pirlo doesn’t have too many options here, and is expected to set up offensive tactics that will see Juve pressuring the rivals who aren’t that confident lately.

Porto (+625) did defeat Gil Vicente in the last game of the domestic league, 0-2, but previously they couldn’t beat two top rivals Braga and Sporting, at home. So this is a sign that the Dragons’ form isn’t that great.

They haven’t lost in seven matches on the road, but had three straight draws during that time. We need to stress out that once playing away from home, Porto sets up ultra-defensive tactics, waiting for the rival’s mistake and trying to strike from the counter-attack.

In four of those seven unbeaten matches, they haven’t allowed a goal, but that was against the lower-placed teams in the rankings. Both times they played vs. Braga, Porto couldn’t keep its net intact.

Latest News

De Ligt won’t play, and that is a huge blow for Juve. Dybala is out as well, as Danilo and Bentancur. Arthur is doubtful.

Mbaye isn’t available for Porto, while Jesus Corona, Mbemba, and Pepe are all doubtful. All these three guys are very important for the Dragons, especially Pepe and Corona.

Head to Head Games

Since the start of the century, these teams met five times in the Champions League, and Juve won three times, one game ended with a draw, with the latest one ending in Porto’s favor, 2-1.

Taremi scored in the first minute of the game, and Marega in the first minute of the second half for the Dragons. Federico Chiesa made it 2-1 eight minutes before the end of the regulations.

Prediction

We haven’t got any other pick than Juventus’ easy win here. It will be a massive sensation if the Old Lady doesn’t come out as the winner from this matchup. Porto caught them off guard in the first leg, and that won’t happen twice. Also, we see that the Dragons aren’t very confident lately, which is another reason to bet on Juve, who is superb at home.