Champions League Group G: Chelsea can seal first with Porto win
Published:
Matt Haynes | December 8, 2015
Chelsea v Porto
- Champions League Group G
- Wednesday, December 9th
- Kick-off: 19:45 GMT
- Stamford Bridge
- Live on BT Sport 2
Blues seek fourth straight Stamford Bridge win over Porto
If Chelsea beat Porto, they will qualify for the last 16 of the Champions League, top of Group G.
The Blues are odds-on at 19/20 with Coral to take all three points and will be encouraged by the fact that they have won every match against their Portuguese opponents at Stamford Bridge.
In September 2004, when the clubs first met in west London, Jose Mourinho steered the side to a 3-1 victory over his former club, and one of the scorers from that match is still a part of the squad. That is of course, long-serving skipper John Terry, who is 8/1 to score anytime.
While the reverse fixture earlier this campaign finished in a 2-1 defeat to Chelsea, they will be keen to make up for that and know what is at stake. Willian dispatched in Portugal and was lively throughout, so the Brazilian is 9/4 to net anytime again.
Big players need to step up for Mourinho
This season, Chelsea’s lack of inspiration from their best players has cost them dearly and while last term the team looked superhuman, the same set of players have been hovering the wrong side of mediocre.
Diego Costa’s return of four goals in 18 appearances across all competitions isn’t good enough, however all of the best centre forwards suffer from lack of form at some stage in their career. He has struck once in the Champions League so far this term, when the Blues beat Maccabi Tel Aviv 4-0 at Stamford Bridge, so 9/2 odds of him emulating this and breaking the deadlock could be worth a punt.
Eden Hazard is another standout player from last season who hasn’t lived up to expectations, though if the Belgian can find form against Porto, Chelsea can be confident of securing a victory. At 6/4 to strike anytime, he could be worth considering, while Pedro, a three-time Champions League winner with Barcelona is offered at 7/4 in the same market.
Blues should be wary of Porto threat
While Chelsea will no doubt be looking to start on the front foot, they must still be cautious of their visitors on the counter-attack. The likes of Vincent Aboubakar, 2/1 anytime and Yacine Brahimi, 10/3 are dangerous in front of goal and can expose Chelsea if the hosts aren’t careful.
Porto also come into this match on the back of three straight wins so will be confident of causing Chelsea problems with Andre Andre who scored in the reverse available at 11/2 to do so once more.
Related
Check out our Champions League archive.
Coral’s top tip: Back Willian to score once more against Porto @ 9/4 anytime with Coral.
