Tuesday night is the match between Liverpool and FC Porto, the first leg of the Champions League quarterfinals. The match takes place from 20:00 on the Anfield arena and has an interesting story, given that Liverpool and Porto met in the previous edition of the competition. The English went further in the quarters after 5-0 away and 0-0 on home ground.
Interestingly, FC Porto has never won the English field in 18 attempts, which leaves room for doubts about the ability of the guests to dominate. Liverpool comes after five consecutive wins, but he’s got a goal every time and knows how important it will be to get the net untouched Tuesday night.
Only Lallana, Gomez and Oxlade-Chamberlain (in recovery) are absent, which does not complicate too much Jurgen Klopp’s selection. “The Cormorants” will be on the field with the best footballers, while Porto does not have Aboubakar, Fabiano and Telles. Liverpool is a clear favorite in the eyes of betting agencies: odds 1.30 for victory. England’s superiority was clear last season, when Mane’s hat-trick and Firmino and Salah’s goals scored the final score of 5-0.
FC Porto has just defeated Boavista in the championship, 2-0, after positive results with Braga (1-1 and 3-2), Maritimo (3-0) and Feirense (2-1). In the previous round, Porto moved to AS Roma and comes with a moral solid on Merseyside, although he did not beat Liverpool in 6 straight games. “The Cormorants” got three successes, and three more parties ended in a tie. In addition, in the last two matches played on home ground with teams from Portugal, Liverpool drew white!
The last Portuguese team to beat them was Benfica (2-0) in 2004, also in the Champions League. With a long series of invincibility and a whole lot of apt, Liverpool should create enough opportunities at the opponent’s goal to get the first chance at qualifying. The white-and-white quality came out in recent matches with Southampton (3-1), Tottenham (2-1), Bayern Munich (3-1) and Burnley (4-2). The return takes place next week, Dragao.
LIVERPOOL – PORTO PROBABLY TEAMS
Liverpool: Alisson, Alexander-Arnold, Lovren, Van Dijk, Milner, Wijnaldum, Henderson, Fabinho, Mane, Firmino, Salah
Porto: Casillas – Eder Militao, Felipe, Pepe, Otavio, Danilo Pereira, Herrera, Corona – Brahimi, Marega, Tiquinho
PREDICTION: Over 2,5 goals @ 1.64
