Porto vs Barcelona

High-flying Barcelona head to the Estadio do Dragao to meet Porto in a mouth-watering Champions League Group H top-table six-pointer.

Porto got their Champions League campaign off to a flying start, beating Shakhtar Donetsk 3-1 in their Group H opener before squeezing past domestic rivals Gil Vicente 2-1 in the Primeira Liga. However, Sergio Conceicao’s side relinquished their near-perfect seven-match start to 2023/24 in all competitions (W6, D1) at the weekend, going down 1-0 at the Estadio da Luz to arch-nemesis Benfica. The upcoming Champions League clash against a Barcelona side they’ve defeated just once in five previous H2Hs in the competition (W1, L4) offers little respite. But the ‘Dragons’ have fared reasonably well at home lately, going unbeaten in their last three Champions League outings at Dragao, two of which saw them keep a clean sheet. That said, they’ve conceded in all three competitive home games this term (W2, D1).

In the meantime, Sergio Ramos’ late own goal inspired Barcelona to a precious 1-0 home triumph over Sevilla last weekend, helping them stay within a one-point distance of La Liga leaders Real Madrid. Yet to lose at the start of their domestic title defense (W6, D2), Xavi Hernandez’s men come into proceedings keen to consolidate their bid to reach the Champions League knockout phase after back-to-back group-stage eliminations. The ‘Blaugrana’ laid the foundation for that accomplishment with a 5-0 statement win over Antwerp in their curtain-raising fixture. However, they cannot afford to rest on the laurels, with Xavi looking to address Barcelona’s travel sickness that has seen them lose three of their last four Champions League away matches (W1). Given they’re unbeaten on all four road trips this season (W2, D2), it stands to reason they’ll be confident about defying that barren continental run.