Krasnodar vs FC Porto Preview

The battle to qualify for the Champions League group stages continues as FC Porto visits the impressive Krasnodar in one of the most exciting games of this playoff round.

Porto are the favourites here having qualified for 4 of the last 5 Champions League group stages.  They have had their run stopped by Liverpool in the last two seasons and the Reds have gone on to reach the final in each of those seasons, so Porto has more pedigree here.

Having been a regular in the Europa League for the past few seasons, Krasnodar would be hoping that they can pull off a major upset and eliminate Porto in this round, but a good performance in this first leg could go a long way.

FC Porto has to deal with the loss of several of their key players this season as the likes of Yacine Brahimi and Eder Militao have left them this summer.  They have brought in Ze Luis and a number of other exciting signings, so their fans should be confident that they can reach the Champions League group stage yet again.

With the likes of Remy Cabella and Kristoffer Olsson on their books, Krasnodar will be playing to finish this game with a good advantage ahead of the return leg. 

This is one of the most competitive betting markets of the week as bookmakers have priced Porto up as very slight favourites however the odds are extremely close and rush of cash could see Krasnodar go off as favourites in the first leg.

Goal markets expect a tactical game as under 2.5 goals is currently trading odds-on prior to kick-off.

This game gets underway at 18:00 BST.