Atletico Madrid vs FC Porto
UEFA Champions League, KO: 20:00 Sep 7, 2022, Estadio Civitas Metropolitano
Atletico Madrid get their UEFA Champions League campaign underway with a Group B clash against FC Porto. The Spaniards are not in the best of forms at the moment and could find things difficult against the Portuguese champions, who can be tricky opponents on their day.
It has been a mixed start to the season for Atletico Madrid, who are having to play catch-up to Real Madrid and Barcelona early on in La Liga. They are currently seventh in La Liga having claimed just two wins from their opening four matches.
Atletico Madrid head into Wednesday’s clash off the back of a 1-1 draw with Real Sociedad. They struck early in the contest through Alvaro Morata but were pegged back by the hosts five minutes after the break.
The result at Sociedad highlights the fact that Atletico Madrid have lost their much talked about defensive solidity given the injuries to several key players. They will be without goalkeeper Jan Oblak and with Stefan Savic also ruled out, midfielder Axel Witsel may have to continue in central defence.
FC Porto are also yet to hit their stride this season but have had a slightly better start to their domestic campaign than Atletico Madrid. They have suffered just one defeat in five Primeira Liga matches and are currently third on the table.
The Portuguese champions warmed up for the trip to Madrid with a 2-0 Primeira Liga victory over Gil Vicente last Saturday. Quick-fire goals from Mehdi Taremi and Galeno just before the break were enough to earn them the win.
The problem for Porto is that their recent forays into the Champions League have ended in disappointment as they claimed just one win in last season’s competition. Manager Sergio Conceicao will look to take advantage of Atletico Madrid's problems to give it go in Spain.
How the bookies view it
Despite their many problems, Atletico Madrid are still considered overwhelming favourites among the bookies with a home win priced at 13/15 by SBK. A victory for FC Porto is valued at 21/5 by Unibet while a draw is set at odds of 28/11 by 10bet.
Head to head
Atletico Madrid have a 3-2 advantage with three draws from eight previous matches with FC Porto. Both teams battled to a 0-0 draw in their last meeting in Madrid back in 2021.
Players to watch
The one shining light for Atletico Madrid this season is Alvaro Morata, who appears to be returning to his best form. The striker has three goals in four appearances this season and is priced at 13/8 by bet365 to find the net.
Mehdi Taremi will be the one to watch for FC Porto as he appears to have picked up where he left off last season. The striker has three goals already this season and is priced at 15/4 by bet365 to find the net on Wednesday.
Anything else catch the eye?
Given Atletico Madrid’s injury problems at the back, Porto will be confident of breaching them at the back. With the Spaniards also boasting some quality in attack, both teams could be backed to score at 11/10 with SBK.
There were over 3.5 goals in the last meeting between Atletico Madrid and Porto and a similar outcome is priced at 10/3 with BetVictor. Over 2.5 goals could also be considered at 5/4 with Sport Nation.
This UEFA Champions League match between Atletico Madrid and FC Porto will be played on Sep 7, 2022 and kick off at 20:00. Check below for our tipsters best Atletico Madrid vs FC Porto prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
