Porto v Liverpool Betting Tips: Reds to take step closer to a double?
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Odds and preview ahead of Champions League tie
Barcelona and Ajax booked their places in the last four of the Champions League last night, and attention turns to Porto tonight where Liverpool take a commanding 2-0 lead into the away leg.
Jurgen Klopp’s side outplayed Porto in the first leg, and come into the game off the back of an impressive league win against Chelsea.
Porto will look to secure a shock result similar to Ajax on Tuesday, but do they have enough to turn the tie around at the Estadio do Dragao?
The action kicks off live from 8:00pm on BT Sport 3…
Head-to-head
An early Naby Keita strike, followed by a second from Roberto Firmino ensured Liverpool ran out 2-0 winners in the home leg at Anfield last week.
The Reds boast an impressive record against the Portuguese side too, unbeaten in their seven previous meetings notching four wins.
Can Porto secure their first win against Liverpool tonight and make it through?
Likely XIs
Porto: Casillas: Militao, Pepe, Felipe, Alex Telles; Corona, Pereira, Herrera, Brahimi; Marega, Soares.
Liverpool: Alisson; Alexander-Arnold, Matip, Van Dijk, Robertson; Henderson, Fabinho, Keita; Salah, Firmino, Mane.
For the hosts, only Vincent Aboubakar will miss out through injury. Porto also welcome back Pepe and Hector Herrera from suspension, and they’re expected to slot straight in to the starting XI.
Yacine Brahimi was left out of the starting line-up last week, with Sergio Conceicao adopting a more defensive approach. With nothing to lose, Brahimi could be thrown back into the side to add an attacking flair they were missing at Anfield.
Klopp is unlikely to mess with a winning formula, so should look to stick with the team that won last time out. The front three of Firmino, Sadio Mane and Mohamed Salah are firing on all cylinders again and their firepower should see Liverpool through.
Jordan Henderson took a knock to his ankle against Chelsea on Sunday, but is expected to retain his place in the side.
Key Battles
Alex Telles is highly regarded within Europe, and kept a lid on Salah for much of the first leg. He’ll have to make sure he contains his threat again tonight. Eder Militao will need to keep Mane quiet on the opposite side too.
Francisco Soares and Moussa Marega are the first line of attack for Porto, and Marega has six goals in eight Champions League appearances this season. Virgil Van Dijk and Joel Matip will need to be on top of their game to stop Porto breaking through.
Keita has scored in two of his last three appearances. He’s finally providing the attacking threat from midfield that made Liverpool sign him from RB Leipzig, so Hector Herrera and Danilo Pereira should look to nullify his threat from deep.
Match Odds
Porto face an uphill battle at home, but stranger things have happened in the Champions League in recent years. They’re 13/5 to win tonight, and 10/1 to qualify for the semis.
Liverpool are favourites to win the away leg too at 21/20, with the Reds odds on to qualify at 1/33.
Soares is the favourite with our traders to notch for Porto. He’s 9/2 to open the scoring, and you can get 9/5 on him netting anytime.
Salah and Mane are the men in form, and they hold the keys to unlocking the Porto defence. They’re both 4/1 to break the deadlock, or 13/8 says they score anytime.
View the latest Porto v Liverpool odds at Coral.
All Odds and Markets are correct as of the date of publishing.
