Home / Match Previews / Champions League: Porto vs Chelsea preview

Champions League: Porto vs Chelsea preview

Kick off: Tuesday, 29.09.2015. @20:45

Venue: Estadio do Dragao

Head to head record

Porto vs Chelsea 0-1 (Champions League)
Chelsea vs Porto 1-0 (Champions League)
Chelsea vs Porto 2-1 (Champions League)
Porto vs Chelsea 1-1 (Champions League)
Porto vs Chelsea 2-1 (Champions League)

Porto vs Chelsea prediction

Having recorded a 2-2 draw in Kiev in their opening match, FC Porto will be looking to edge closer to the knockout stages with a good result against out-of-sorts Chelsea. The Blues failed to extend the good run as they narrowly avoided defeat at St James’ Park, but at least they hammered Maccabi Tel Aviv in their first CL fixture this term.

Bright start for Porto

FC Porto have got to be admired as they continue to sell their best players for huge profit margins and always ensure to remain competitive in both Portugal and Europe. This season is no difference considering that the club do not appear to have any problems in spite of departure of Jackson Martinez, Danilo and Alex Sandro, with the Dragons looking good in the opening exchanges. Julen Lopetegui’s side are unbeaten in seven games this season and they are top of the league following the derby win over Benfica, in spite of the unfortunate draw with Moreirense. Porto also enjoyed a good start to their Champions League campaign, holding Dynamo Kiev to a 2-2 draw in Ukraine, although they will have bigger fish to fry when they welcome Chelsea to Estadio do Dragao. But, with the Blues struggling for form, the hosts stand a decent chance of avoiding a defeat on Tuesday, and they would probably be perfectly happy with one point from this match, especially with two games against weak Maccabi Tel Aviv next on the cards.

Coach Julen Lopetegui is sweating over the fitness of key midfielder Yacine Brahimi, but defender Maicon has recovered from injury.

*Check out 888sport’s Multiple Mayhem promotion, designed to add 25% bonus on winning CL accumulators.

Another slip-up

It is fair to say that nobody knows what has happened to the team that dominated the Premier League last season, with Chelsea winning just two of first seven league fixtures. The comfortable win over Maccabi Tel Aviv had hinted that the poor run might be over, especially since it was followed by triumphs over Arsenal and Walsall. But, just as everyone expected Jose Mourinho’s charges to beat struggling Newcastle without too many problems, they completely switched off and allowed the hosts to score goals either side of the half-time break. Chelsea eventually showed some character to score two late goals and secure one point, but no doubt that the manager will have a lot to say to his players ahead of the Porto clash. Considering that their opponents have been in fine form and taking also into account that the Blues only won one of last three matches at Estadio do Dragao, we are not prepared to back the visitors to claim maximum points in Portugal, and we have a feeling that both sides would be happy to share the spoils on Tuesday evening.

Jose Mourinho will have Diego Costa back from domestic suspension, but Thibaut Courtois is a long-term casualty.

Porto vs Chelsea betting tip

If we take into account Chelsea’s shocking form, the two sides look pretty evenly matched at the moment and it is also important to note that each of last five meetings between the two sides was a very close game. Therefore, our advice is to bet on half-time draw, with full-time stalemate also a good option.

Tip: Half-time draw

Odds: 2.00 (1/1) @Winner

Check Also

Champions League: Shakhtar Donetsk vs PSG preview

Champions League: Shakhtar Donetsk vs PSG preview

Kick off: Wednesday, 30.09.2015. @20:45 Venue: L’viv Arena Head to head record No past meetings Shakhtar ...

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

You may use these HTML tags and attributes: <a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <cite> <code> <del datetime=""> <em> <i> <q cite=""> <s> <strike> <strong>