Football Previews
FC Porto will resume their Champions League campaign this Wednesday when they host Italian heavy-weights Juventus in the first leg of the quarter-finals stage at the Estadio do Dragao.
The Portuguese side qualified for this stage of the tournament in impressive fashion after finishing second in a group that had Manchester City, Olympiacos and Marseille. They ended the group stage with 13 points, winning four of their matches and losing just once while scoring ten times.
They remain one of the dark horses of this tournament based on that form, as only four sides—all group table-toppers—finished with more than the 13 points that Porto gained in the previous stage.
However, on the domestic front, Porto have had it difficult in recent meetings with four draws in their last four domestic games. Although they are unbeaten in seven games (W3, D4) in all competitions, their recent inability to kill off games should be a worry for them heading into this tie.
Qualifying top of their group ahead of Barcelona, Juventus would have been the happier of the two teams when the draw was made in December as they avoided bigger names in the competition to be paired with Porto.
They head into this tie without a win in two games but are not doing so badly as their recent wobble was the first time they have dropped points in six games after going on a six-game-winning run.
They face a tough tie against Sérgio Conceição’s boys who are unbeaten at home in 14 competitive matches across all competitions (W11, D3), including all three Champions League fixtures held here this season (W2, D1).
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