.jpg)
Tonight's Europa League clash between FC Porto and Villarreal seems to be a real breath of fresh air after all the wild antics in last night's Champions League Clasico. After all, the Iberian clash at the Dragao has what it takes to be a real classic.
Besides Barcelona in the Champions League, FC Porto have perhaps been one of the most impressive sides in Europe this season. And if there's one reason behind that improvement, it has to be Andre Villas-Boas, who has virtually transformed the club since taking over last summer.
Unbeaten in the league with the title already in the bag, FC Porto have been focusing all their energy and efforts on Europe since that majestic win over Benfica at the Estadio da Luz. But ahead of tonight's clash with Villarreal, the whole situation brings us to this one particular question: Who is the major favourite to win at the Dragao tonight?
Villarreal have already drawn comparison with the mighty Barcelona for their languid playing style and their strong fourth position in the La Liga table proves the credentials to compete against the best teams. But Villarreal's recent run of form may prove to be a cause for concern in pre-match battle of being awarded the 'favorites' tagline. However, Villas-Boas in convinced that there is very little to differentiate between his side and the Yellow Submarines.
Villas-Boas, who is aiming to emulate Jose Mourinho's 2004 Treble winning squad said: "By this stage there is no such thing as favourites. Both teams have equal chance of going through, so we'll just play our own game."
However, it is probably very difficult to understand the point in Villas-Boas' statement considering how lethal they have been in both domestic as well as European duties at home. So while Bruno Soriano proclaimed Villarreal's status as underdogs ahead of tonight's match, Juan Carlos Garrido is probably eager to get his time fired up after he brushed off any speculation about Porto being regarded as favorites.
According to uefa.com, Garrido said: "We dream about going through. Porto are a great team, they are Portuguese champions and have many strong points. I'm full of respect and admiration but we're going to try to win here, play our own game, and keep the dream of the final alive.
There are no favourites. We are going to work within our capabilities to make a good season great
. We need to be perfect at the back and going forward, have confidence in ourselves and stay true to our style as much as possible."
Nonetheless, the Yellow Submarines will be missing some very important players due to the ever-present injury curse. Garrido will be without Gonzalo, Angel Lopez and the influential Marcos Senna- something that very much changes to dynamics of the game in favour of Porto. Andre Villas-Boas men are currently on a rich vein of form with 12 wins out of their last 12 matches, including an impressive victory over Benfica last week.
But while they might or even should be regarded as favorites, the presence of Giuseppe Rossi might still yet make them vulnerable at the back. If Villarreal can snatch an away draw here, things might pretty much begin to favor them ahead of the second leg next week. Anyhow, this encounter certainly has all the important ingredients needed to be an explosive Iberian battle. Bring it on!
