FC Porto – Atl. Madrid Free Betting Tips
Three straight wins in UEFA Champions League (UCL) Group B have secured Porto’s place in the last 16, and the Dragons face Atlético Madrid on the final day, the team that denied them progression on the same matchday in UCL 2021-22. Porto then lost 3-1 at home to the red-and-white side, out of the play-offs for the first time in five years with a dramatic 2-2 draw against Bayer Leverkusen at the Metropolitano.
The 4-0 winners at home to Brugge, the Porto players celebrated on the plane home after Yannick Carrasco missed a penalty in the final play of the Atleti-Leverkusen game, which sealed the Portuguese club’s seventh qualification in their last ten UCL appearances. Sérgio Conceição’s side can still go through as group winners and avoid the winners of the other groups in the last 16, for which they will need more points against Atleti than leaders Brugge when they visit Leverkusen.
The premature elimination from the UCL has been a financial blow for Atleti, who could be forced to transfer players in the winter transfer window. The disappointment in the UCL was compounded by the defeat away to Cádiz on matchday 12 of LaLiga Santander, but there is no time for regrets in Cholo Simeone’s increasingly questionable squad. The Argentinian coach will face Conceicao, his former Lazio team-mate, for the fourth time on the bench (G2, E1).
The 2-1 win over Porto on matchday one is the only one the red-and-white team has managed in this group stage, and it was not a convincing one. Atleti needed a goal from Griezmann in the 101st minute to beat the reigning Portuguese champions in the first and only UCL match with three goals scored in second-half stoppage time. Since that 3-1 win over Porto on matchday six of UCL 2021-22, Atleti have lost in three of their four outings in the competition (G1, P3), and a slip-up on Tuesday could deny them third place in the Europa League.
Players to watch: 11-yard specialist Mehdi Taremi has scored Porto’s final goal in their last two UCL victories. Antoine Griezmann, scorer of the winning goal against Porto at the Metropolitano, comes into the clash having scored in two of Atleti’s last three away games.
Standout series: the first half has not had more goals than the second in any of Porto’s previous 12 matches in all competitions.
OVER 2.5 GOALS Odds: 2.00
The odds presented in the prediction may vary at the time of verification.
