We have reached the round of 16 in the 2023/24 Champions League and teams form shows we could be in for a highly entertaining match.
The game between Porto and Arsenal will take place on the 21st of February at the Estádio Do Dragão. The hosts are currently in third place in the Portuguese Primeira Liga while the visitors are second in the English Premier League.
Porto come into the match on the back of a 2-0 home win over Estrela in the Primeira Liga on the weekend.
Cake officially iced 🍰Courtesy of @kaihavertz29 🤜 pic.twitter.com/0JNmkCWZHD— Arsenal (@Arsenal) February 18, 2024
Cake officially iced 🍰Courtesy of @kaihavertz29 🤜 pic.twitter.com/0JNmkCWZHD
It was a game Porto were expected to win and they took the lead in the 35th minute.
Porto doubled their advantage in the 56th minute and prevented the visitors from scoring in the remaining time.
The victory over Estrela means Porto are undefeated in 9 of their 10 most recent fixtures in all competitions.
There have been wins over Chaves, Sporting Braga, Moreirense at home plus Farense away in the Primeira Liga. Porto also beat Leixões at home and Estoril away in the Taca de Portugal.
In terms of the Champions League, stats show Porto have won 3 of their last 4 matches in the competition.
They have beaten Antwerp and Shakhtar Donetsk at home plus Antwerp away. Porto have seen over 2.5 goals scored in 4 of their 6 most recent Champions League encounters.
Home form shows Porto are undefeated in 5 of their last 6 Champions League games.
Arsenal travel to Portugal having recorded an impressive 5-0 win at Burnley in the Premier League on the weekend.
The Gunners opened the scoring in the 4th minute and added a second goal on the stroke of half time. Arsenal scored their third goal in the 47th minute and their fourth came 19 minutes later.
Arsenal completed a wonderful day with their fifth goal in the 78th minute.
The win at Burnley means Arsenal have won each of their last 5 games in all competitions.
The additional victories have come over Nottingham Forest and West Ham away plus Crystal Palace and Liverpool at home in the Premier League.
Trends show Arsenal are undefeated in their last 4 Champions League fixtures. They have seen over 2.5 goals scored in 10 of their 12 most recent Champions League matches.
Arsenal have won just 1 of their last 4 away Champions League games and have seen both teams score in each of their last 8 on the road in the competition.
Team news: Porto are without injured defender Ivan Marcano. Gabriel Veron is a doubt due to an Achilles tendon injury.
Arsenal are without the injured quartet of Oleksandr Zinchenko, Fábio Vieira, Thomas Partey, and Jurrien Timber. There are also doubts over the fitness of Gabriel Jesus.
Our predictions are for this game to see plenty of goals and we expect to see both teams find the back of the net. Arsenal have been scoring for fun of late and it is the away team who could come away with the victory from this first leg.