UCL Preview: FC Porto vs AC Milan – Key stats, H2H, line-ups, prediction

Olivier Giroud celebrates after scoring the penalty for AC Milan against Cagliari
Olivier Giroud celebrates after scoring the penalty for AC Milan against Cagliari

Porto and AC Milan will meet in the Group B encounter in the UEFA Champions League.

Venue: Estadio do Dragao

Key Statistics

  • Porto and AC Milan are third and fourth in Group B, with the latter losing both the games in the group stage this season.
  • Milan are yet to lose a game in Serie A this season and are currently second in the table behind Napoli.
  • Porto’s form in the Primeira Liga is also equally impressive, as they have picked up 6 wins and 2 draws in 8 games.

Head to Head record

Milan and Porto have met eight times in the Champions League, with the former one winning three times. They have shared spoils on three occasions.

Recent form

Porto: W W L W W

Milan: W W L W W

Porto

Porto have endured a disappointing start to their Champions League campaign, sharing a point with Atletico Madrid before crushing to a 5-1 defeat against Liverpool in the second game.

Their league form has remained intact this season, as they are currently second behind Benfica with 20 points.

Porto did wonders in the Champions League last season, producing a memorable win against Juventus in the round of 16. However, things haven’t gone as planned this term in the group of death.

Luis Diaz is a player to keep an eye on as he currently leads the Primeira Liga scoring charts with 6 goals.

Sergio Conceicao’s side are coming off a thumping win against Sintrense in Taca de Portugal in which midfielder Sergio Oliveira scored a double.

Possible line-ups

Diogo Costa; Jesus Corona, Pepe, Ivan Marcano, Wendell; Otavio, Sergio Oliveira, Mateus Uribe, Luis Diaz; Toni Martinez, Mehdi Taremi

AC Milan

AC Milan have been excellent in Serie A this season, winning seven out of the eight games they have played. However, they have failed to replicate their form in what turns out to be their first Champions League campaign after a long time.

Milan’s first game against Liverpool was an entertaining affair as the Italian club were leading at halftime. But they succumbed to a 3-2 defeat in the end. 

Rossoneri suffered a similar fate against Atletico Madrid at San Siro in their second game, conceding a goal in injury time.

Stefano Pioli’s side will enter into Wednesday’s clash in a must-win situation to keep their hopes alive in the Champions League.

They would look to continue their momentum after completing a comeback against Verona in Serie A.

Possible line-ups

Ciprian Tatarusanu; Davide Calabria, Fikayo Tomori, Simon Kjaer, Fode Ballo-Toure; Ismael Bennacer, Sandro Tonali; Alexis Saelemaekers, Rade Krunic, Rafael Leao; Olivier Giroud

Prediction

Porto 0 – 2 Milan