Crucial week for Portugal’s Champions League participants

Portugal’s trio of Champions League participants have had a largely disappointing European campaign so far, but this week all three teams have the chance to get right back in the running for qualification to the knockout phase.

Benfica and FC Porto travel to Ukraine and Belgium respectively to take on opponents who have one and zero points respectively, while Sporting have a crunch match at Alvalade against an injury-weakened Borussia Dortmund.

 

Borussia ravaged by injury

With European Champions Real Madrid expected to top Group F and Polish outfit Legia Warsaw looking likely to end the campaign on zero points, it appears to be a straight fight between Sporting and Dortmund for second place. The Lions are currently on 3 points, one behind their opponents in Lisbon tonight.

Injuries could play a big part in the outcome of the game. Sporting are without inspirational captain Adrien Silva, and centre-back Ruben Semedo will have a late fitness test, but the Germans are in even worse shape fitness-wise. Ten of Thomas Tuchel’s men are unavailable due to injury including key players such as Marco Reus, Gonzalo Castro and Raphael Guerreiro. The strain on the squad has been showing, with two draws and a loss in their last three matches. Can Sporting take advantage?

Porto’s young strike-force

When the draw was made for the Champions League most observers in Portugal opined that Porto had hit the jackpot, with a seemingly straightforward route to the last 16. Two matches and just one point later, and that no longer appears the case, but the Dragons have the ideal opportunity to turn things around in the double-header against Brugges, who have two defeats, no goals and a -7 goal difference to show from their two Group G matches so far.

André Silva and Diogo Jota both scored morale-boosting hat-tricks in the last fortnight, the former for Portugal in the World Cup qualifier against Faroe Islands and the latter against Nacional in his first start. Silva is 20 and Jota 19, making it the youngest strike partnership in the Champions League, and with Otávio and Óliver Torres, both 21, also likely to be in the starting line-up, it is an extremely youthful Porto side that travels to Belgium.

Samaris to get the nod for Benfica

Benfica have failed to win only 3 of their 11 games in 2016/17, but significantly two of them came in the Champions League – a home draw against Besiktas and a defeat at Napoli – meaning that it is crucial for Benfica to get at least a draw from their trip to Dynamo Kiev.  The Portuguese champions will try to take advantage of the Ukrainians hitting a rough patch of form, having won only two of their last 8 games.

Benfica’s wave of injuries continues to severely limit the options of coach Rui Vitória. Jonas and Rafa Silva remain unfit, and midfielder André Horta is now also confined to the treatment room. With Danilo not registered for the Champions League, the fit again Samaris should deputise for Horta.

Both Benfica and Dynamo made it to the knockout stages of the competition last season, the Eagles going all the way to the quarter-finals, and both teams will feel they still have every chance of qualifying. Napoli look a good bet to win Group B, while just one point separates Besiktas, Benfica and Dynamo.

by Tom Kundert