FC Porto vs Chelsea: Line-up, Champions League prediction and result

epl predictions

Two former Uefa Champions League winners collide on Wednesday, as FC Porto host Chelsea in their quarter-final first leg at the Estadio do Dragao.

The English Premier League side pipped Bayern Munich on their own Allianz Arena turf to win the 2012 title, edging the German giants in a penalty shootout.

Jose Mourinho shot to fame in 2004, meanwhile, as he guided his Portuguese club to a 3-0 final win over Monaco before leaving the club a week later… for Chelsea.

There has been plenty of drama this time around, too, as the pair meet for a place in the last four.

The Blues left Diego Simeone and his Atletico Madrid side spitting feathers thanks to a 3-0 aggregate success.

It wasn’t just the result that vexed the Argentinian coach, with the second leg played at Chelsea’s Stamford Bridge stadium despite his side being stripped of home advantage in the first, thanks to the Spanish government’s Covid-19 restrictions.

The story was all on the pitch for Porto, who saw off old rival Cristiano Ronaldo and Co in a stunning extra-time win in Turin.

Leading 2-1 after their first leg, they lost 3-2 on the night but went through on away goals thanks to Sergio Oliveira’s goal in the 115th minute.

There’s no Ronaldo to deal with this time, but Chelsea coach Thomas Tuchel does have a near-fully fit squad to select from.

N’Golo Kante and Christian Pulisic look to be the only exceptions to that on the injury front, although Antonio Rudiger was hoofed off the training ground after his bust-up with Kepa Arrizabalaga on Sunday.

Kai Havertz could get the nod up front ahead of experienced duo Timo Werner and Olivier Giroud.

Striker Mehdi Taremi was sent off for Porto in Italy so will miss out through suspension, while on-loan Malang Sarr is barred from lining up against his parent club.

Mouhamed Mbaye and Ivan Marcano are ruled out by injury but coach Sergio Conceicao should have Zaidu Sanusi at his disposal, following the defender’s successful comeback.

FC Porto vs Chelsea: Prediction

Prediction methodology explainedThe expected win percentage is based off publicly available odds. For example, if a team’s odds are 2.30, the expected chance of winning is 43%. If the odds are 1.62 the expected chance of winning is 62% and so on. These are accurate at the time of writing but are subject to change. Where there is no value listed, the odds were not available at the time of writing.

FC Porto vs Chelsea: UCL starting XI prediction

Probable FC Porto Starting XI: Agustin Marchesin, Wilson Manafa, Chancel Mbemba, Pepe, Zaidu Sanusi, Corona, Mateus Uribe, Sergio Oliveira, Otavio, Luis Diaz, Moussa Marega.

Probable Chelsea Starting XI: Edouard Mendy, Cesar Azpilicueta, Andreas Christensen, Antonio Rudiger, Callum Hudson-Odoi, Jorginho, Mateo Kovacic, Ben Chilwell, Mason Mount, Hakim Ziyech, Kai Havertz.

Find all Uefa Champions League predictions, fixtures and results for 6 and 7 April 2021 here.