Porto v Juventus Betting Tips: Cagey affair expected at Estádio do Dragão

Juventus travel to take on Porto on Wednesday night – a match that, on the face of it, is probably a lot harder to call than most of the other quarter-final ties.

Both teams come into this fixture having been in exceptional form in their own division recently and are likely to be confident. However, in contrast to some of last week’s high-scoring encounters, this match could be very tight indeed. Unlike many of the big clubs in this competition, Juventus aren’t known as the sort of team to go crazy in the goals department, especially in the big games. The Italian giant’s philosophy is based around keeping things tight at the back and grinding out results, particularly on the road.

The two bets that catch the eye here are ‘0-0 at Half-Time’ and ‘Under 1.5 Goals’ at 6/4 and 9/5 respectively. Porto might be known for their scoring exploits in the Portuguese league, but they face a much tougher task here and could encounter real problems when trying to force their way through against the rigid back-line of Juventus. As touched on above, The Old Lady pride themselves on their ability to keep teams out and it would be no surprise at all if their main goal in this match, especially early on, was containment.

In front of a home crowd, it is no secret that Porto often score plenty of goals in their own league, but, other than thrashing a Leicester City side who were already through at the time, Nuno Espírito Santo’s side were a lot more subdued in the group stages of this competition – they could only manage a single goal against both Copenhagen and Club Brugge on their own patch during the groups. Let’s face it, with Juventus boasting a much fiercer rearguard, the hosts might just struggle to hit their attacking stride.

If we’re talking about defensive solidity, then Juventus are generally up their with the best; however, Porto conceded just the one goal at home during the groups stages so aren’t exactly slouches at the back.

Considering neither side was big on letting in goals during the groups, coupled with the fact that Juventus are more than likely to do what they do best and keep things nice and secure, there could be very few goals in this first-leg.

All things considered, with neither team making much appeal at the prices, backing a lack of goals during the first 90 minutes of this tie is the way to go.

See more Champions League tips here.