Barcelona vs Porto tips: Catalans to secure knock-out spot with dominant performance
- Sergiu Baltuta
- 27 November 2023
The Champions League campaign resumes after a three-week hiatus, and this match between Barcelona and Porto is just one of several heavyweight clashes to catch the eye in round five.
Champions League, Tuesday November 28, kick-off 20:00 (GMT), live on TNT Sports 4
After four rounds, Barcelona and Porto are locked together on nine points, three more than Shakhtar Donetsk, who produced a huge surprise in the previous round to beat the Catalans 1-0 in Germany.
That shock result has complicated things at the top of Group H and put the Ukrainians in with a chance of catching the loser of this game.
Barca won the reverse fixture in Portugal, thanks to the only goal scored by Ferran Torres in first-half stoppage time, but it was an edgy game that saw the visitors pick up eight yellow cards and a red, with Gavi receiving his marching orders in the closing minutes.
Barcelona’s only defeat at home this season is the one suffered in El Clasico against Real Madrid (1-2), but other than that they managed eight wins at the Olimpic Stadium, their temporary home while Camp Nou is renovated.
The Blaugrana team won the two games played at home in UCL this season, after leading at half-time as well, 5-0 vs Antwerp and 2-1 vs Shakhtar, and we anticipate this match following a similar path.
- Suggested bet: Barcelona to lead at Half-time and Full-time
The Catalans will be happy to put their first game after the international break behind them, as they looked out of sorts at Rayo Vallecano and needed a late own goal to salvage a disappointing 1-1 draw, a result that has seen them slip down to fourth place in La Liga behind surprise package Girona and the two madrid heavyweights.
On the other side Porto were on domestic cup duty at the weekend, and eased themselves back from the break with a comfortable 4-0 win over lower-tier CDC Montalegre.
In the league Porto are third, three points behind the rivals from Lisbon, Benfica and Sporting.
In the Champions League, the team led by Sergio Conceicao took advantage of Barcelona’s defeat in the last round and drew level with them on points, having cruises though both games against Antwerp, winning 4-1 away and 2-0 at home.
- Suggested bet: Both teams to score - Yes
