Atletico Madrid will be looking to get their Champions League group-stage campaign off to a flier when they welcome Porto to Wanda Metropolitano on Wednesday night, with kickoff at 10 pm.
Atletico Madrid reached the final of the 2015-16 Champions League, but they have found it difficult to make a serious impression in the competition since then.
They have only made it past the round of 16 once in the last three seasons. That said, Atletico has beaten Manchester United in the round of 16 twice in the last three years and lost to Manchester City in one of their two quarter-final appearances.
Atletico will play in Group B of this season’s tournament alongside Porto, Club Brugge and Bayer Leverkusen. They will be favourites to top the section, but it looks like a very open group with all four sides believing they can reach the knockout stage.
Porto has won three of the six meetings between the two sides, with Atletico’s two victories coming in the group stage of the 2009-10 Champions League.
The Blue and Whites made the quarter-finals of last season’s Europa League. Still, they went out in the groups, finishing third behind Liverpool and Atletico, which saw them transfer to this year’s Europa League, where they were eliminated in the round of 16.
Atletico Madrid vs Porto Head to Head
Both sides have eight games against each other, with the hosts taking three wins while the visitors with two wins. Here is a look at their previous encounters:
Home
- Real Sociedad 1-1 Atletico Madrid
- Valencia 0-1 Atletico Madrid
- Atletico Madrid 0-2 Villarreal
- Getafe 0-3 Atletico Madrid
Away
- Gil Vicente FC 0-2 FC Porto
- Rio Ave 3-1 FC Porto
- FC Porto 0-3 Sporting CP
- FC Vizela 0-1 FC Porto
Atletico Madrid Team News
Atletico Madrid will be without centre-back Felipe Luis through suspension, while Stefan Savic and new arrival Sergio Reguilon are also on the sidelines through injury. Matheus Cunha, Thomas Lemar and Nahuel Molina remain doubts but could feature.
FC Porto Team News
As for Porto, Marko Grujic and Wilson Manafa are out injured. But the Portuguese side is otherwise in good shape going into the match, with coach Conceicao likely to change from the side that started against Gil Vicente on Saturday. Evanilson is expected to return in the final third of the field.
Prediction and Odds
Both sides will fancy their chances of winning Wednesday night at Wanda Metropolitano, but Atletico Madrid is notoriously difficult to beat in their stadium.
- Draw
- Double Chance
- Goals Over 1.5
