Champions League - FC Porto vs Schalke 04 Football betting preview

Porto V Shalke

I really like the look of the home side here. Porto played rather poorly in the first leg but were still only beaten 1 – 0. At home they are a different prospect and have won 10 from 11 this season scoring 24 and only conceding 1. In the group stages they beat both Marseille and Besiktas and drew with Liverpool. Overall, the Portuguese giants have only ever lost one Champions League game at the Estadio do Dragão.

Probable starting XI: Helton - Bosingwa, Bruno Alves, Pedro Emanuel, Fucile - Lucho Gonzalez, Paulo Assuncao, Raul Meireles - Lisandro Lopez, Farias, Ricardo Quaresma

Shalke know exactly what is needed to progress. Holding a 1 – 0 first leg win means that if they score one goal then Porto need at least 3 to go through. They’re away record in Europe surprised many this season with a 2 - 0 win at Rosenborg, before securing an impressive 0 - 0 draw at the Mestala against Valencia.

Despite being beaten by Chelsea at Stanford bridge they played quite well and possibly looked like they lacked the self belief to take the game to Chelsea as they should have.

Probable starting XI: Neuer - Rafinha, Bordon, Krstajic, Westermann - Jones, Ernst - , Kobiashvili, Rakitic, Streit – Kuranyi

Verdict

Porto at home are a tough nut to crack and can mix it with the best when they play to their capabilities. Realistically this could go either way but the bottom line is that Porto have to win. If Shalke happen to score then I still don’t believe all will be lost for the home side as they are a team capable of scoring out of nothing. I think Porto have enough not only to win here but to progress to the next stage too.



Pick : Porto to qualify
Odds : 2.38
Stake : 7 / 10
Bookmaker : Paddy Power
Match Result :
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