FC Porto vs Juventus prediction, preview, team news and more | UEFA Champions League 2020-21
FC Porto host Juventus in the first leg of the UEFA Champions League round of 16 at the Estadio do Dragao on Wednesday night.
Juventus were eliminated at this stage of the competition last season, when they lost to Lyon on away goals.
The Old Lady lost 1-0 in Lyon, before winning 2-1 in Turin thanks to a Cristiano Ronaldo brace. However, Lyon went through on away goals before beating Manchester City in the following round.
In the group stages of this season's competition, Juventus finished top of their group consisting of Barcelona, Dynamo Kyiv and Ferencvaros.
Both Juve and Barca finished the group stage with 15 points from their six group games. However, Andrea Pirlo's side finished top due to a better head-to-head record against Barcelona.
Pirlo's side are in something of a rut at the moment. They have not won either of their last two games. However, they won six in a row before that, so it is not yet time for them to panic.
In their last match, Juventus lost 1-0 to Napoli in Serie A, with a first-half penalty from Lorenzo Insigne eventually proving enough to decide the game.
Juventus are currently fourth in Serie A, nine points behind leaders Inter Milan with a game in hand.
Porto, on the other hand, qualified for the round of 16 by finishing second to Manchester City in Group C. However, their recent form hasn't been encouraging at all. They have drawn their last four matches in all competitions.
They are also only barely in the Liga NOS title race, where Sporting Lisbon hold a 10-point lead, with 19 games played in the season.
FC Porto vs Juventus Head-to-Head
Porto have not beaten Juventus in four previous competitive games between the two sides. The Italian giants have won three of those games so far.
These two sides met in the 2016-17 UEFA Champions League round of 16, when Juve won 3-0 on aggregate.
FC Porto form guide: D-D-D-D-W
Juventus form guide: L-D-W-W-W
FC Porto vs Juventus Team News
FC Porto
Porto boss Sergio Conceicao will be without full-backs Nanu and Zaidu Sanusi. Midfielder Otavio also has a muscle injury and has been ruled out of this game.
Injured: Nanu, Zaidu Sanusi, Otavio
Doubtful: None
Suspended: None
Juventus
Colombian star Juan Cuadrado picked up an injury in their last game against Napoli, and will miss this game.
Juventus will also go into this encounter without Paulo Dybala, Aaron Ramsey and Arthur.
Injured: Juan Cuadrado, Paulo Dybala, Aaron Ramsey, Arthur
Doubtful: None
Suspended: None
FC Porto vs Juventus Predicted XIs
FC Porto Predicted XI (4-3-3): Agustin Marchesin; Wilson Manafa, Chancel Mbemba, Pepe, Malang Sarr; Jesus Corona, Sergio Oliviera, Matheus Uribe; Luiz Diaz, Moussa Marega, Mehdi Taremi
Juventus Predicted XI (4-4-2): Wojciech Szczesny; Danilo, Leonardo Bonucci, Matthijs de Ligt, Alex Sandro; Federico Chiesa, Rodrigo Bentancur, Adrien Rabiot, Weston McKennie; Cristiano Ronaldo, Alvaro Morata
FC Porto vs Juventus Prediction
Despite their inconsistency this season, this is a game that Juventus should dominate. That is, in large part, down to Porto being inconsistent as well.
With Ronaldo and Morata in their ranks, Juventus will fancy their chances of bringing a few away goals back to Turin.
Prediction: FC Porto 1-3 Juventus