Liverpool will travel to Portugal to clash heads with FC Porto at Estádio do Dragão on Wednesday night after claiming a hard-fought 2-0 win over their Portuguese opponents in the first-leg last week. The Reds will fancy their chances of scoring a goal in midweek which would mean that the home side would have to score four goals to qualify.
Jurgen Klopp might opt to start with a 4-3-3 formation while Porto adopts an old-fashioned 4-4-2 set up.
Team News
FC Porto
Both Hector Herrera and Pepe will feature against the Reds on Wednesday night after they missed out on the first leg due to suspension. Vincent Aboubakar is nearing a first-team return, but this game would come too early for him. He has missed a significant chunk of this campaign after damaging the ligaments of his left knee.
Liverpool
Jordan Henderson is a major doubt for this clash after he picked up an ankle injury in the second half against Chelsea last weekend. Both Adam Lallana and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain won’t travel to Portugal as they continue to recover from their respective injuries. However, on the positive side, Andrew Robertson should return to Klopp’s starting XI after serving out his suspension in the first leg at Anfield last week.
Odds
The bookies are making Liverpool slight favourites as they are priced at 11/10 to win the second leg at Estádio do Dragão. A draw seems like it has a lot of value for punters with the odds being priced at 5/2. The home side are as big as 14/5 underdogs to emerge victorious from this midweek Champions League encounter.
Liverpool are priced at 7/2 to win the Champions League outright which seems a great price when you consider that the Reds already have one foot in the semifinals. Klopp’s men are definitely better value to win the Champions League than Manchester City at odds of 10/3. Pep’s men still have the task of overturning the first leg deficit of 1-0 against Tottenham Hotspur. For more exciting betting odds take a look at some of the best free bets online.
Predicted Lineup
FC Porto
Iker Casillas, Eder Militao, Felipe, Pepe, Alex Telles, Hector Herrera, Danilo Pereira, Otavio, Jesús Manuel Corona, Moussa Marega, Francisco Soares
Liverpool
Alisson Becker, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Dejan Lovren, Virgil Van Dijk, Andrew Robertson, Fabinho, Naby Keita, Jordan Henderson, Mohamed Salah, Roberto Firmino, Sadio Mane
Read More: Lovren To Start, Henderson In Midfield | 4-3-3 Liverpool Predicted Lineup Vs FC Porto
Key Men
FC Porto
Moussa Marega was Sérgio Conceição’s biggest weapon going forward at Anfield in the first leg. Hence, he will once again be a handful for the Reds defenders in midweek. Casillas will also need to be at his best if the home side are to have any chance of securing qualification in front of their home supporters.
Liverpool
Both Lovren and Van Dijk needs to keep things solid at the back as they attempt to keep Marega quiet on Wednesday night. Liverpool’s front three of Mane, Salah and Firmino will once again be expected to make the difference going forward in this important second leg away at Porto.
