FC Porto and Paris Saint-Germain will face off in one of the most entertaining matches of Tuesday afternoon. Both sides have already locked up a UEFA Champions League Round of 16 berth but only one point separates the two teams in a matchup that will determine Group A's leader.
FC Porto is in the lead after having suffered no losses in the first five matches. They defeated Dinamo Zagreb on the road 2-0, then shut down Paris Saint-Germain at home 1-0 before taking down a stingy Dynamo Kiev 3-2. Their lone blemish was a 0-0 draw with Kiev but they answered with a 3-0 win over Zagreb two weeks ago. Porto has scored nine goals thus far (seven at home) and has only allowed two goals (both at home). Their road offense has only scored two goals, but they have not yet allowed a single tally on the road thanks to a conservative and well calculated effort away from home.
The hosts of this match have shown tremendous prowess at home. PSG has only allowed one home goal, which came in their 4-1 dismissal of Kiev (who scored in the 87th minute of that match). They then lsot to Porto on the road but then took down Dinamo Zagreb in two straight matches by a combined score of 6-0. They last dismantled Kiev 2-0 on the road. Of their 12 goals, eight have come at home thanks in part to their aggressive attacking. Star forward Zlatan Ibrahimovic only has two goals in this tournament but seven other players have scored goals for PSG, including Menez and Lavezzi who each have two goals in the five matches. PSG must win if they hope to win the group. Porto only needs to settle for a tie to take Group A.
Predictions: PSG will be aggressive, but Porto will pay conservatively for the tie. Ultimately however, I think that Porto scores one and wins it 1-0.
Start Time: 2:45 PM EST