Date: Wednesday, December 10, 2014
Venue: Estadio do Dragao, Porto
Kick off time: 19:45 hrs BST
Porto will be up against Shakhtar Donetsk in the last round of matches in the UEFA Champions League group stage. Both teams have already qualified for the knock out stages from Group H with Porto the confirmed group leaders with 13 points in 5 games. Shakhtar have 8 from 5 games and will qualify from second place in the group.
Porto’s form: W-D-W-W-W
The hosts are unbeaten in their last five competitive games which reveals the strength that this side have coming into this game. Their last outing in Europa was on November 25 when they beat BATE Borisov in an away match 3-0.
Porto come into this game on the backs of three successive wins starting from the game against BATE. They have won against Rio Ave (5-0) and Academica Coimbra (0-3) thereafter. The side have scored 11 goals in their last three games, which is a statistic to be scared of if you are in the opposition.
Shakhtar’s form: D-W-L-W-W
Shakhtar have done quite well for themselves this season after several players had threatened to quit the club amidst a civil war which engulfed Ukraine. After some initial difficulties, thee side have gone on to show their class by qualifying for the knock-out stages in Europe once again.
While their last foray into this tournament had ended in a 1-0 home defeat against Spanish side Athletic Bilbao on November 25, Shakhtar have since won a couple on the bounce in their domestic league, scoring 8 goals and conceding just one in the process.
Key Players
Porto: Colombia hitman Jackson Martinez has been attracting interest from Liverpool and Arsenal in the Premier League with his non-stop goal scoring in Europe as well as in the Portuguese league. The man is in sublime form in front of goal and not a lot would bet on him not scoring on Wednesday night.
Shakhtar: Luiz Adriano has been one of the best players at the club for a while now. While he remains the focal point in the side’s attacking play and scores a lot of goals, the Brazilian has added to his game and contributes a good deal to his team’s play.
Betting Advice
There will be a lot of goals in this match. The last time that the sides met, the game had ended in a 2-2 draw (2.05 at BetVictor for over 2.5 goals) with both Martinez and Adriano scoring for their respective sides. Expect something similar for this fixture.