Porto vs Manchester United
Uefa Champions League Quarter Final 2nd Leg, 20h45
After the draw everyone tipped United to progress from this tie. And even now, after the 1st leg most people go with the defending champions. Still, there are some stats that make Porto favourites. The most important are the ones that shows their brilliance in stopping United's attack at Old Trafford a week ago. In doing so, they were very offensive also, managing more shots on goal and more corners than the hosts did. The Portuguese team lead for most of the match, and when they were eventually trailling, they had the strength to pull themselves together and equalise in the final minutes.
So the momentum is really with Porto now. There are also more feats to be taken seriously. Porto are undefeated at home to English clubs in the European Cups. And that means eleven matches. They also managed to defeat United in 2004, when they went to win the most coveted European trophy guided by Jose Mourinho. Also, in the last years, the UCL reigning champions haven't made it to the Semifinal stage the next season.
Rio Ferdinand and Berbatov are back in the squad after injuries, but United players seem to have lost momentum. And if a couple of months ago there were voices that told us of a possible quintuple, now the Red Devils should be scared because they risk losing not only the UCL, but also the domestic title to a Liverpool side that is in-form and seeks the crown for almost 20 years now.
I tip Porto to go through, which is valued at about 10/11.