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Porto visit the Spanish capital to take on the high-flying Atletico Madrid in the Champions League on Wednesday night, hoping to seal a place in the last 16 of the competition, but with their fate not entirely in their own hands.
Atletico have already won the group, opening up a gap of seven points at the top. However, the race for the second spot is still on, with Porto being just one point behind second-placed Zenit St Petersburg.
However, Zenit have a better head-to-head record between the two, meaning the Portuguese side need all three points against Atletico at the Vicente Calderon tonight and hope the Russians fail to beat Austria Vienna in the other fixture.
Atletico had won the reverse fixture in Porto 2-1 back in October, with Arda Turan scoring a late winner. The Spaniards are enjoying a dream run of form at the moment and are currently level on points with Barcelona at the top of the La Liga table, winning 13 of their 15 matches so far.
"Atletico were powerful when they played in Porto and now, two months on, they are even stronger. They are having a very good season, suffering just one loss and one draw in La Liga, but we come here only with the aim of winning because there is no other option," said Porto boss Paulo Fonseca.
"We didn't win any of our home matches and although we have done well on our travels, that was not the aim at the beginning of the season. We expect to win but we must retain our shape throughout the match. I'm certain we can win and we will see what happens with Zenit's match - we can't do anything about that," he added.
Atletico, on the other hand, will be keen on continuing their fantastic start to the season with yet another home win tonight. However, with top spot already confirmed, and also with Valenica set to visit them in La Liga at the weekend, Deigo Simeone will rest some of his big players tonight.
The manager also hinted that some of the club's academy products, including teenage midfielder Oliver Torres and wing-back Javi Manquillo, could get starts against Porto.
"Porto and Zenit were favourites for this group at the start of the season because of their experience. Our victories against Porto [away] and Zenit [at home] were very important. [Porto striker] Jackson Martínez is a great player who continues growing season by season, but I'm content with my own forwards," Simeone pointed out.
"Oliver and Manquillo are in a maturing stage. They are going to be very important players for this team. The future is great but the present is very important and we want them to keep developing. I expect more from Oliver because he could give us more than he is giving now," he added.
Team News
Atletico: Goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois (thigh) misses out, while defender Juanfran serves a one-game suspension. Mario Suarez (knee) remains sidelined, while fellow midfielders Cristian Rodriguez and Josuha Guilavogui (both knocks) could be rested, along with defenders Miranda and Diego Godin.
Porto: Midfielder Lucho Gonzalez (groin) has a late fitness test lined up to confirm his participation tonight. Otherwise, Fonseca has a full squad to choose from, with forward Nabil Ghilas completing his recovery from a muscle problem.
Where to Watch Live
The game is scheduled for a 1.15 am IST start on Thursday morning, with no live coverage in India. But you can live stream the match by clicking HERE. Viewers in the U.S. can catch the action via live streaming HERE. To watch the match in the U.K., click HERE. Viewers in North Africa and the Middle East click HERE.
Expected lineups: Atletico: Aranzubia; Manquillo, Alderweireld, Gimenez, Insua; Tiago, Koke; Raul Garcia, Torres, Arda; Adrian
Porto: Helton; Danilo, Maicon, Mangala, Alex Sandro; Defour, Herrera, Lucho; Varela, Martinez, Josue
Prediction: 2-1 to Atletico
