Malaga v Porto: Blunt Spaniards to hit Portuguese rock

13Mar 2013

Bajnokok Ligája

It's advantage Porto as Christian Crowther previews the second leg of their Champions League clash with Malaga...

Malaga v Porto, Wednesday 19:45, Sky Sports 4, Match Odds: Malaga 2.84, Porto 2.74, The Draw 3.45

Porto make the relatively short trip across to Malaga safe in the knowledge that their 1-0 lead from the first leg means an away goal may well unlock the gate to the quarter-finals.

You can't put a value on a clean sheet at home in European knockout football and this Porto side are well versed at keeping the opposition out, making them big favourites to qualify.

As Opta inform us, Porto's defensive robustness has served them brilliantly this season as the champions of Portugal represent the joint-best defence in the tournament alongside Juventus and Paris St Germain, conceding only four times.

While Malaga have surpassed expectations by getting to this stage of the competition, as group winners no less, the wealth of experience their visitors bring could be the difference here.

History doesn't shine to brightly on the Spaniards either. It's revealed by Opta that Porto have fared incredibly well against their Iberian club counterparts in this competition. In fact, in their last eight Champions League cross-border tussles since losing to Real Madrid in October 2003, Porto haven't been beaten once.

A cursory glance at the form guide also hampers the chances of Malaga progression as Manuel Pellegrini's side have not won in four games, a run that started with the first leg, scoring just one goal across those games.

Meanwhile, Porto's amazing season, in which they've lost just twice (to Braga and Paris St-Germain) and won 27 of their other 34 games, continues.

Over/Under 2.5 goals

Malaga's scoring touch has deserted them at a crucial time of the season; they've only managed to notch twice in their last five games, drawing a trio of blanks, one of those in the first leg.

Porto are sure to play a cat-and-mouse type of game where they hope to catch their hosts on the break but, with such a strong defence, a 0-0 would suit them just fine. With the most clean sheets in the tournament (five), this is certainly achievable.

Best Bet: Back Under 2.5 goals @ 1.82