FC Porto will be hosting Leicester City in a must-win Champions League fixture on Wednesday. They stay two points above FC Copenhagen and only a win will guarantee them qualification for knockout stages. Here are the 3 battles, the Dragons will have to win to get it right.
Riyad Mahrez vs Miguel Layun
Although the Algerian has been less than a shadow of his former self in the Premier League so far, he has surprisingly retained his previous season’s form on the biggest stage.
In the 5 group games that Leicester have played so far, Mahrez has scored 4 goals and provided 1 assist.
He has been unfortunate not to convert his chances in the league. In the 14 appearances, he has scored three goals this season, creating 17 chances and one assist. Mahrez has completed 316 passes this season with a pass accuracy of 77%, of which 77% were forward passes. He could create chances out of nothing and Porto will have to keep him in check.
Miguel Layun has been more or less, a consistent performer for Porto so far. He has appeared 4 times in the Champions League so far and has even scored once. The former Watford man is a bit shaken this season by his recent injury but the boss trusts him to stop Porto’s most dangerous player on Wednesday night.
In the 11 appearances, he has made so far, he has won nine tackles this season with a success rate of 36%. He has made 12 interceptions, 16 clearances and one block. Porto’s qualification will only be guaranteed if they win and stopping Mahrez will be an important task for that.
