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

Dragao Stadium is the venue of one very interesting UEFA Champions League meeting this Wednesday night. Porto hosts Juventus in the first leg of the Round of 16, hoping to create a surprise and gain an advantage before traveling to Turin for a rematch. They are very good at home, which is something that boosts the morale of the hosts. Meanwhile, Juventus had a slip in Naples, losing 1-0 to Napoli. However, we are more than sure that this game is already forgotten and that the Old Lady focused on Porto.

Preview

Porto (+290) has seven consecutive games without a defeat, but their four latest were without a win as well. The Dragons posted four draws in a row, which is a rarety in their appearances. The team from Dragao had a pretty nasty schedule having to play seven road events in the past 10 matches, and that took a toll on the results as time went by.

Furthermore, the defense loosened up in the past three games, allowing five goals, signaling that the situation is alarming.

When playing at Dragao, Porto is more than confident, they have 14 encounters in a row without a loss, winning 11 of them while keeping clean sheets on 8 occasions. The offense was pretty solid in all these events, not hitting the back of the rival’s net at least twice three times.

Juventus (+105) didn’t score in two straight contests. The first was against Inter in the Coppa Italia semis rematch, but that didn’t hurt them after having a one-goal edge from the first event. Yet, the match in Naples saw them missing a chance to additionally cut down the gap between them and AC Milan, who lost vs. Spezia.

Before the defeat in Naples, Juventus was quite good, actually. They had six wins in a row, before a draw vs. Inter. In those seven games, the Old Lady kept its net intact six times, while on the other side netting at least twice in all of the wins. And just to remind that their opponents were, for instance, Inter, Roma, and Napoli.

So, all in all, they are playing solid, regardless of that one failure they experienced.

Latest News

Mbaye and Nanu won’t play for sure for the home tea, while Marcano’s status is still questionable.

Arthur and Cuadrado are out, while Bonuccis and Dybala remain doubtful.

Head to Head Matches

Juventus still didn’t lose against Porto. They played five games, with the Italians winning four and one ending with a draw. The most important match was in 1984, when Juve won in the Cup Winners’ Cup finals, 2-1.

Prediction

Juventus’s defense is rock solid, and we already saw that when checking the Italian champions’ recent results. Porto has solid goal protection as well, especially when playing at home. Once we combine this with the contest’s importance, under 2.5 goals come out as the best possible solution for betting here. The odds are -166, which is ok, and we really believe that this is the safest pick in this case.