FC Porto vs FK Krasnodar Predictions

Porto are aiming to see off the job as they host Krasnodar in this Champions League second leg on Tuesday night. The hosts should expect to get forward and put this tie to bed as the favourites for the win. They are packing enough talent up top to take out a Krasnodar side who have struggled on their travels in Europe. With a gap in terms of experience and quality here, we have to side with the Dragons.

The hosts have been mainstays of this competition over the years, benefitting from their strong position in Portugal and the country’s solid representation in the Champions League. However, now that the Primeira Liga has been cut down to two spots – just one of which is an automatic place – the Portuguese giants are going through some tough summer clashes. The build-up to these in Portugal is dominated by the finances on the line, as Porto have a huge income gap if they fail in these qualifiers.

Krasnodar aren’t quite so desperate for their share of the Champions League pie. They are in this competition for the first time, so this is very much a prestige mission for the Russian outfit. They took a hit in that home defeat to Porto, as they lost their chance to get a footing in this tie. While the Russian side have made a great start in the Premier League this term, they looked a little short against Porto in the first leg of this tie. Now they head away to the Dragao facing one of the most experienced sides in this competition.

It’s hard to have much hope in Krasnodar making the step up. They have lost three of their last four trips in the Europa League, which has left them as the rank outsiders for this tie. While there are minors worries about Porto following their loss in the Primeira Liga at the weekend, that just goes to show how important this tie is for the Portuguese side. They are all in on the Champions League. We expect Porto to make short work of this second leg, especially having built up some impressive form at home.

The hosts have scored 20 goals across their last eight home games in this competition. They have hit two goals or more in three of their last four, with the other a loss to Liverpool in the knockout round last term. They have now scored 15 goals in qualifying clashes in the Champions League since the start of the decade, so we’re backing them to score another couple here. Over 1.5 Porto team goals is our pick.