It’s been an interesting couple of weeks for Portuguese side Porto, who beat Shakhtar Donetsk 3-1 to kick off their latest UEFA Champions League (UCL) campaign in style before suffering a frustrating 1-0 loss to fierce rivals Benfica on Friday. An early Fábio Cardoso red card did the damage in that outing with the result subsequently leaving them chasing the Lisbon side in the Portuguese league title race.
A return to European competition could offer some welcome relief as they look to qualify from the group stages for a second consecutive season. The Dragons’ solid home record in the UCL of late could aid their push for more success here as they’re unbeaten in their last three home outings in the competition, keeping a clean sheet in two of those, which should get the confidence flowing ahead of their bid to record just their second ever victory against Barcelona in the European Cup/UCL since their first meeting in 1985 (W1, L4).
Their prior meeting saw the Catalan giants win the 2011 UEFA Super Cup, a match which saw Xavi anchor the midfield, and now he faces the same side in charge of his boyhood club for the 100th time. His managerial stint with Barcelona has proven to be up-and-down so far, but another stunning start to this most recent campaign definitely has the Spanish side dreaming of a big trophy haul this time around.
It’s nine competitive outings unbeaten in 2023/24 for the Blaugrana (W7, D2), which includes a 5-0 victory over Royal Antwerp on UCL matchday one. Barça’s early success has largely been helped by their form in front of goal, netting a stunning 24 goals across their last eight matches, but both of their draws have come on the road this campaign, whilst they’ve lost three of their last four UCL road trips (W1), which could cause some nerves ahead of their trip to Portugal.
Key battle: Two players who netted a brace each on UCL matchday one will do battle here as Porto’s Galeno goes head-to-head with former Benfica and current Barcelona star João Félix. Three of their four combined goals this season arrived before half-time, while both players also recorded an assist.
Hot stat: Barcelona have failed to score in four of their last six UCL away matches.
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