FC Porto vs. Juventus Betting Preview – Champions League, February 17, 2021

Porto welcomes Juventus to Estadio do Dragao on Wednesday, February 17, for the first leg of their Champions League Round of 16 tie.

The Dragons head into the first leg as the bookmakers’ clear outsider, although Andrea Pirlo’s men have struggled for consistency throughout the 2020/21 campaign.

Can the home side upset the odds on Wednesday? Keep reading to see my Porto vs. Juventus prediction and betting pick.

Regardless of their home status on Wednesday, FC Porto (4.25) is the bookies’ obvious outsider here. Still, I’m surprised that 10bet is offering such a high price for the home win.

Juventus (2.00) is expected to establish a first-leg advantage, although the big odds for both the home win and the draw (3.15) make it difficult to immediately settle on a pick for this matchup.

Let’s take a closer look at the teams.

Having been drawn alongside Manchester City, Olympiacos, and Marseille, Group C had the potential to be tough for Porto. But as it turned out, Sergio Conceicao’s side advanced to the knockout stages with ease.

The Dragons only lost one of their six group games, as well as securing an impressive draw against Man City, to finish just three points shy of Pep Guardiola’s team, with both Olympiacos and Marseille trailing ten points behind.

Despite Sporting CP’s dominance in Liga NOS, Porto is also enjoying a positive domestic campaign. Conceicao’s men have lost just two of their 19 domestic matches this term, and they are currently the top scorers in the Portuguese top-flight by some distance.

Including Taca de Portugal games, Porto heads into Wednesday’s clash on an 18-match unbeaten streak in domestic competition. However, three straight league draws have somewhat halted the team’s momentum.

The question is – can the Dragons maintain their unbeaten run when Juventus comes to town?

By their own high standards, Juventus is enduring a below-par campaign. As things stand, the Italian champions find themselves fourth in the Serie A standings – eight points behind frontrunners Inter Milan.

Granted, Andrea Pirlo’s men have only lost three of their 21 Serie A matches this term. But with each of those defeats coming in their last nine outings, there is no denying that Juve has struggled since the turn of the year.

Earlier in the season, the Italians made light work of the Champions League group stage. They won five of their six games en route to finishing ahead of Barcelona in Group G, conceding just four goals along the way.

But since then, the Old Lady hasn’t been firing on all cylinders.

Despite enjoying 63% possession and racking up a whopping 24 shots, Juventus was beaten 1-0 by Napoli on Saturday. If Pirlo’s men are equally wasteful on Wednesday, they could find themselves slipping up again.

In all honesty, I would like the price for the Juventus win to be a bit higher here. The Bianconeri has not been convincing in recent weeks, making the outcome of this game tough to predict.

Considering Porto’s outstanding unbeaten streak, I think the draw is the way to go here. The hosts could easily frustrate the visitors on Wednesday, and the big odds are difficult to ignore.