Porto could well find themselves on the end of a Chelsea backlash as the two sides prepare to meet in the Champions League on Wednesday.
The quarter-final first leg takes place at the Ramon Sanchez-Pizjuan in Sevilla and without actual home advantage, Porto could be in for a tough night against a frustrated Chelsea.
Conceicao Concerned about Chelsea Response
Porto coach Sergio Conceicao has admitted he would rather not have seen Chelsea suffer a 5-2 defeat at the hands of West Brom in the Premier League on Saturday.
It was certainly the shock result of the weekend and one that will have manager Thomas Tuchel and his players fired up to produce a response.
Porto will certainly be no pushovers, after the Portuguese outfit managed to overcome Serie A champions Juventus in the last round of the Champions League.
But with just one clean sheet in their last four games in all competitions, it looks like there are frailties in the Porto defence that Chelsea can look to exploit.
The Blues’ defence, before the surprising defeat to the Baggies, had looked much-improved since Tuchel took the reins at Stamford Bridge from his predecessor Frank Lampard.
The Blues should be able to get back to their defensive best in the Champions League, and are 31/20 to win to nil in Sevilla.
Chelsea have won 4 of their last 5 matches against Porto in UEFA club competition…
Who's taking this one?
#UCL pic.twitter.com/Mn4XWyBcpu
— UEFA Champions League (@ChampionsLeague) April 7, 2021
PSG Pose Problems for Bayern
Wednesday night also throws up a repeat of last season’s Champions League final, as Bayern Munich welcome Paris Saint-Germain to the Allianz Arena.
Bayern were hit by the news star striker Robert Lewandowski will miss both legs against the Ligue 1 champions due to a knee injury.
Germany international Serge Gnabry is also expected to sit out this first meeting due to illness.
As for PSG, they will have stars Neymar and Kylian Mbappe available for the trip to Bavaria and both forwards will be looking to shine after quiet performances in the final last season.
Mauricio Pochettino spoke to the press earlier today from Munich to discuss tomorrow's quarter-final
https://t.co/6kBYwIPOw9
— Paris Saint-Germain (@PSG_English) April 6, 2021
Neymar and Mbappe are 9/5 and 6/4 to score anytime respectively and both will fancy their chances of getting on the scoresheet.
Bayern have impressed of late and are on a seven-game winning streak, so even without Lewandowski and Gnabry they will still be a threat.
PSG will be without Alessandro Florenzi and Marco Verratti, who miss out after testing positive for Covid-19 last week.
The absences will weaken the visitors in the heart of midfield and at left-back but they should be able to cover for the showdown with the reigning European champions.
This tie could well be finely poised going into the second leg at the Parc des Princes, and Wednesday night’s encounter is 3/1 to be a draw, which looks like a tasty price.
*All odds correct at time of writing
