Portuguese champions FC Porto will welcome Belgian side Club Brugge to Estádio do Dragão this Tuesday for the second round of the 2022/23 UEFA Champions League stage games.
Venue: Estádio do Dragão (Porto)
Key Statistics
FC Porto have won their last ten games played as hosts.
They have kept three clean sheets in their last five games.
The hosts have scored 3+ goals in four of the eight competitive games they have played this season.
Club Brugge have won their last three away games.
They have two clean sheets from their last three away games.
They have lost their last six games in all competitions.
They have kept three clean sheets in a row ahead of this tie.
Head to head
In four meetings between both sides, FC Porto have three wins while Club Brugge have one win.
Latest performances in all competitions
FC Porto: W-L-W-L-W
Club Brugge: W-W-W-W-W
FC Porto
FC Porto will look to bounce back from the first-round defeat when they welcome Club Brugge to Estádio do Dragão on Tuesday.
The hosts began their 24th season in the UCL group stage poorly when they suffered a 2-1 defeat to Spanish La Liga side Atletico Madrid in the opening game at the Wanda Metropolitano last week.
In a surprising game full of late actions, Porto were reduced to ten men in the 81st minute when the tie was still goalless as Mehdi Taremi was sent off for a second bookable offence. Atletico Madrid now capitalised on the numerical advantage in the 91st minute when Mario Hermoso bundled home what he thought would be the winner on the night.
However, a late penalty goal by Mateus Uribe in the sixth minute of added time restored parity for Porto, who thought they would go home with a point. But substitute Antoine Griezmann had other ideas as he popped up with a late goal to seal the win for Diego Simeone’s men while Porto left without a point.
And so they will now come back to the Estádio do Dragão where they have been strong, looking to record their first win of the group round and so keep their chances of finishing in the top two places in this group alive.
Sérgio Conceição’s side come into this tie on the back of a 3-0 home win over Chaves, taking their winning run at home to ten games in all competitions. The last team to go away with maximum points from this ground is Lyon who escaped with a narrow 1-0 win in the UEFA Europa League last season.
And so, the hosts will come into this tie feeling confident that they can get a good result that will keep their chances of a top-two finish from this group alive.
Possible FC Porto starting line-up
Diogo Costa; Joao Mario,Fabio Cardoso, David Carmo, Wendell; Pepe, Steven Eustaquio, Mateus Uribe, Wenderson Galaeno; Toni Martinez, Evanilson.
Injured: Otavio
Doubtful: None
Suspended: Mehdi Taremi
Club Brugge
Club Brugge will look to make it two wins in two UCL games when they travel to Portugal in midweek.
The visitors opened their account in the UCL this season with a well-deserved 1-0 win over Bayer Leverkusen last week. The win was their sixth consecutive win in all competitions.
It was also the third straight game they have played without conceding a goal, showing how far they have come since they finished bottom of their group in this tournament last year after winning just one of their group games.
Although that group last year was less friendly than their group this year as it had Manchester City, Paris Saint-Germain and RB Leipzig who finished first, second and third, respectively.
This year, they will fancy their chances of finishing in the top two having been grouped alongside Porto, Atletico Madrid and Bayer Leverkusen.
Considering that they opened their group with a win, they will travel to Portugal desperate to pick up another win that could take them top of the group ahead of their game with Atletico Madrid who are the favourites to win this group.
Possible Club Brugge starting line-up
Simon Mignolet; Brandon Mechele, Raphael Onyedika, Abakar Sylla; Andreas Skov Olsen, Casper Nielsen, Hans Vanaken, Denis Odoi, Bjorn Meijer; Kamal Sowah, Ferran Jutgla.
Injured: Noa Lang, Taejon Buchanan, Mats Rits
Doubtful: Clinton Mata
Suspended: None
Prediction
Porto 2-1 Club Brugge
