Porto vs Juventus: Who will win first clash between reigning champions?

Topics: TV Schedules, Porto, Juventus, UEFA Champions League

It's a clash between two champions as Porto take on Juventus for the first leg of their round of 16 tie on Wednesday, February 17th.

Preview: Porto vs Juventus

With five clean sheets in their last five UCL matches, Porto will be naturally looking to try to keep up their defensive fortress when Juventus come to town. Over the course of their group stage campaign, the Dragons conceded a measly three goals as Sergio Conceicao's men finished as runners-up in their quartet behind Manchester City.

Domestically, the reigning Primeira Liga champions come into this match sitting in a distant second spot, ten points behind current league leaders Sporting Lisbon. The hosts have drawn their last three matches - which has hardly helped their title defense - and most recently ended up having to settle for a two-all stalemate with relegation threatened Boavista.

That's hardly the kind of warm-up Conceicao would like to see from his side, especially as the Portuguese giants had to battle from two goals down just to salvage a draw. Nonetheless, the hosts will nonetheless fancy their chances against a Juventus side who haven't looked as dominant as they have in prior seasons.

Porto will come into this contest unbeaten in their last five Champions League matches, and haven't conceded a goal in 467 minutes. Furthermore, the Dragons have a strong home record against Italian sides, with just one loss in their prior nine (W4 D4). However, that sole loss was at the hands of Juventus in 2017, when Gigi Buffon and Iker Casillas were the respective goalkeepers for their sides.

Although the Bianconeri have been in good form in this season's Champions League - with just one loss in the group stages - they haven't been at their best in Serie A. They've lost three times this season, but two of those defeats have been in their last five matches, and that includes a 1-0 loss to Napoli last weekend. Still, they do have an impressive record against Porto, and will arrive unbeaten in their last five meetings (four wins, one draw).

Both teams find themselves in danger of losing their respective league crowns. Juventus, who are in fourth sits eight points behind league leaders Inter, albeit they have a game in hand, while Porto, as noted before, are ten points behind Sporting. It indeed will be very interesting to see who draws first blood in this rematch from 2017.

Team news: Porto vs Juventus

Porto: Dragons boss Conceicao will be missing midfielder Otavio, as well as defenders Nanu and Zaidu Sanusi as a result of injury.

Juventus: The visitors will have to make do without Juan Cuadrado, who suffered an injury during Juve's 1-0 loss to Napoli over the weekend. In addition, Aaron Ramsey, Paulo Dybala, and Arthur also look set to miss out on the upcoming trip.

Match facts: Porto vs Juventus

Porto's record in the round of 16 is W4 L7
They've lost four of their last 10 UCL games (W5 D1)
However, Porto are unbeaten in their last five UCL games
The Dragons have also kept clean sheets in all of those matches, which is 467 minutes without conceding
Porto have won four of their last nine home European matches (D2 L3)
Meanwhile, Juve have won five of their last six away European games (L1)
Juventus are in the UCL round of 16 for the 12th time (W7 L4)
La Vecchia Signora have a record of W3 L2 in two-legged ties against Portuguese clubs
Porto have lost just once in their last nine home meetings with Italian sides (W4 D4)
That sole loss was in 2017 against upcoming opponents Juventus
The Bianconeri are unbeaten in their last five meetings with Porto (W4 D1)
Porto are in the UCL for the 24th time - a number only bettered by La Liga duo Barcelona and Real Madrid, who've made 25 appearances