Out of all of the Champions League groups, the one that stands out for not including one of Europe’s powerhouses is Group D which has Galatasaray, Lokomotiv Moscow, Porto and Schalke 04 competing to progress into the next stages. There are no Spanish or English giants or Ronaldo’s or Neymar’s to compete with. Most managers would have been secretly hoping for a draw as favorable as this one.
FC Schalke 04 vs FC Porto Betting odds
Porto is a two-time Champions League winning team having won in 1987 and 2004 but in recent seasons they have failed to compete on the greatest stage of European football. Both teams will be looking to make the most of what is considered to be the easier group to get out of in this season’s Champions League. Porto recently sold their fullbacks Pereira and Dalot to Leicester City and Manchester United respectively, so have less strength in their squad this year.
Current form
FC Schalke has suffered a dismal start to their Bundesliga campaign, with three consecutive losses leaving them second to the bottom of the table. They have lost to Wolfsburg, Hertha, and Monchengladbach in an unexpected poor set of results. In their last two games, they actually managed more shots than their opponents but they are recently lacking the killer instinct in front of goal.
Porto has started their own domestic campaign in much better form, with three wins and one defeat in their opening four matches. They have not struggled for goals either, putting five past Chaves, three past Belenenses, two past Vitoria SC and three against Moreirense. Vincent Aboubakar has claimed three goals already in the league and Alex Telles have provided two assists.
Head to head results
The last time these teams played competitively against each other was the 2007/08 Champions League season which saw them both win 1-0 in their home fixture.
FC Schalke 04 vs FC Porto Betting odds
Schalke 04 to win 8/5
Draw 12/5
Porto 19/10