All to play For in Porto
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We have two UEFA Champions League games to look forward to on Wednesday 6th March, one of which is between Porto and Roma at the Estádio Do Dragão in Portugal.
Both teams will start this match believing they have a good chance of progressing to the next round. Just one goal separates them from the first leg and Porto will be hoping they can overturn the 2-1 deficit from their defeat in Rome.
Roma know a draw will be enough to send them through but can they afford to sit back and defend for 90 minutes?
Porto suffered a disappointing defeat against title rivals Benfica in the Portuguese league on the weekend. The 2-1 loss means they have dropped down to second place in the table and it was not the start they were hoping for in what is a massive week in their season.
Still, that was their first defeat since the loss in the first leg of this tie and between those two matches Porto have won three games, two in the Portuguese Primeira Liga and one in the Taca de Portugal.
Porto’s form in the Champions league shows they have lost only one of their last eight games but that defeat was the first leg of this tie. Prior to the loss in Rome, Porto had won five Champions League games in succession.
Trends show Porto have won five of their last six home Champions League games, with all five wins being good enough scores to see them progress in this tie.
While Porto endured a disappoint defeat on the weekend, Roma were also suffering badly as they went down 3-0 to rivals Lazio in the Rome derby. This was a big setback for Roma in their pursuit of the top four places in Italy and Champions League football next season.
However, it was their first defeat in six games and they had won four of the previous five, including the win over Porto.
Trends show Roma have lost two of their last three Champions league games with defeats coming at home against Real Madrid and perhaps more tellingly, away at Viktoria Plzen. Roma’s away record in the Champions League is poor and they have lost six of their last seven on the road, conceding 2 or more goals in each of those defeats.
Team news and Porto will be without the suspended Jesus Manuel Corona and injured Vincent Aboubakar. Marius Mouandilmadji could be involved but both he and Jorge remain a doubt.
Roma travel without Luca Pellegrini who is suspended and William Bianda who has a knee injury. They will be hoping Konstantinos Manolas recovers from flu and Cengiz Ünder is fit following a thigh problem.
Porto have a strong record at home in the Champions League and coupled with Roma’s troubles on the road, they should win this match. Whether Roma can score an away goal in defeat could be the decisive factor in which team progresses.
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