Liverpool came out on top of their group in the Champions League, and they have one of the best attacks in Europe right now. However, they face a tough task in the round of 16, which they’ll kick off at Porto in the first leg of this tie on February 14th.
What To Know About Liverpool
Liverpool finished first in Group E of the Champions League with three wins and three draws, and they scored 23 goals (only Paris Saint-Germain scored more with 25 in the group stage) while allowing just six. Roberto Firmino scored six goals, while Philippe Coutinho and Mohamed Salah scored five apiece. However, it remains to be seen if Coutinho will still be at Liverpool as Barcelona appears to be chasing him again in the transfer window, which closes on January 31st. That puts a lot of pressure on Salah, who has been Liverpool’s best player this season. They also bought Virgil van Dijk to improve their defense, but he comes with a high price tag and with that, a lot of pressure. Liverpool has a lot of talent, but there are also a lot of questions as well.
What To Know About Porto
Porto finished second to Besiktas in Group G with three wins, a draw and two losses, and they scored 15 goals while allowing 10. Vincent Aboubakar scored five goals for Porto, but a lot of other players chipped in with a goal, which is a good or bad thing depending on how you look at it. The big worry is their defense as they gave up 10 goals in a group with Besiktas, Red Bull Leipzig and Monaco; that isn’t exactly what you would call a murderers’ row. If they’re not careful, Liverpool could run wild on them, both at home and on the road.
Outlook
Liverpool are favored away from home at +125 in the first leg of this tie, while Porto comes in at +210 and a draw is listed at +240. These two have met twice before in Europe as they won 2-0 over two legs in the quarterfinals of the 2001 UEFA Cup (now the Europa Cup), posting a 0-0 away draw and a 2-0 home win. They also met in the group stage of the 2007-08 Champions League with the two drawing 0-0 at Porto, but Liverpool won 4-1 at home. Liverpool has a lot of speed at their disposal and when they’re healthy, they can attack as much as anyone. Even at home, Porto has to be careful that they don’t leave themselves exposed at the back and furthermore, and they can’t afford to give away the ball because Liverpool are very good at turning defense to attack when they’re on. For Liverpool, is Coutinho still going to be here? They should have enough to win without him, but if he leaves for Barcelona, they’re going to find it hard to go far in the Champions League and it wouldn’t be a huge surprise if they went out at this stage.
Champions League Pick: Porto
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