Porto vs Barcelona: UCL Match Preview, Predicted Line-ups and Head to Head

Yet to taste defeat in 2023/24, positivity is flowing through Xavi's men as they prepare for Porto vs Barcelona on Wednesday night.

Match Details:

• Location: Porto, Portugal
• Stadium: Estádio Do Dragão
• Date: Wednesday 4 October
• Kick-off Time: 20:00 BST / 15:00 ET / 12:00 PT
• Referee: Anthony Taylor (ENG)
• VAR: Stuart Attwell (ENG)

Porto vs Barcelona: Match Preview

The home team kick-started their UCL campaign with a 3-1 win over Shakhtar Donetsk. The Portuguese club had more of the ball, and they ended up creating way more chances than their opposition. In the end, it was a rather comfortable win for Porto.

But, now they have a tough task of squaring up against La Liga champions Barcelona. And, Porto are heading into this fixture on the back of a 1-0 defeat at the hands of rivals Benfica. They were far from their best against Benfica and if they did not put up a better fight, things could have gotten ugly for them.

The visitors are in red-hot form in the new season. The Blaugrana were sensational in their opening fixture of the group. They outclassed Royal Antwerp and ended up winning 5-0 on the day. Xavi's men will now aim for another special performance when they visit FC Porto.

Barcelona might have won two out of their three fixtures after their match against Royal Antwerp but they have not been at their best. They have somehow managed to get on the right side of the result twice and played out a draw against Mallorca.

The Catalan giants will be eager to put up a dominating display against Porto, but it won't be that easy.

Team News:

Porto:

The hosts will once again be without Gabriel Veron and Evanilson for Barcelona's visit. A muscle injury will likely keep the former out of action in midweek, while the latter has been hampered by a knee problem.

Ivan Marcano is a long-term absentee after tearing his ACL and won't be back in action until next spring. Zaidu Sanusi also won't feature on Wednesday.

Fabio Cardoso is available for selection despite his sending off at the weekend.

Barcelona:

Raphinha was added to the injury list on Friday night as he suffered a hamstring injury in the 1-0 win over Sevilla, The Brazilian is expected to be out until the end of October, with Lamine Yamal set for his first Champions League start on Wednesday.

Porto vs Barcelona: Head to Head and Key Stats

• Barcelona have an impressive record against FC Porto on the European stage and have won four out of the five matches played between the two teams, as opposed to FC Porto's paltry one victory.
• After winning three of their first four matches against Barcelona between 1972 and 1985, FC Porto have lost each of their last four such games against the Blaugrana in all competitions.
• This is the first meeting between FC Porto and Barcelona in the UEFA Champions League - Barcelona won the previous tie by an aggregate 6-2 margin.
• FC Port have won at least one game against five of the six Spanish opponents that they have faced in the UEFA Champions League, with Barcelona being the only exception.
• FC Porto could win their first two games of a UEFA Champions League campaign for the first time since the 2012-13 campaign.

Predicted Line-ups:

Porto predicted lineup vs Barcelona (4-4-2): Costa; Mário, Pepe, Carmo, Wendell; Baro, Varela, Eustaquio, Galeno; Pepe, Taremi

Barcelona predicted lineup vs Porto (4-3-3): Ter Stegen; Cancelo, Kounde, Christensen, Balde; Gundogan, Gavi, Lopez; Yamal, Lewandowski, Felix