Ronaldo seeks to be a prophet in his land
Juventus starts as favorites against a Porto that clings to Dragao
BARCELONA, 16 Feb. (EUROPA PRESS) –
Porto host Juventus this Wednesday (9:00 p.m.) at Estádio do Dragao in the first leg of the Champions League round of 16, a duel in which the Italians start as favorites, especially because they have a Cristiano Ronaldo who will seek to be prophet in his land and defeat his old rival.
Ronaldo, raised among the elite in Sporting de Portugal, will experience a particular ‘derby’ in the Portuguese fiefdom by leading a ‘Vecchia Signora’ who arrives somewhat ‘touched’ after losing last weekend to Naples (1- 0) and stay eight points behind the leader Inter, but that, even so, would be the negative surprise of this round in case of being eliminated.
In the group stage, Juventus was first ahead of FC Barcelona, the only team capable of stealing three points (0-2, in Turin). Now, more than two months later, they hope to rejoin the ‘Champions’ in the best way, achieving a good result at the Estádio do Dragao.
For Porto, who were second in their group behind Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City, winning in their fiefdom is the key to dreaming. They arrive without so much pressure, without the band of favorites, and this plus the desire to regain a continental power that they had in the past can give them wings.
The Juventus side Danilo, with a past in Porto, warned of this, and that he assures that these clashes are prepared with special spirit in the beautiful Portuguese city. Something that Alex Sandro, another former ‘dragon’, and Ronaldo himself, who has teammates in the rival, also knows.
In addition, the coach Sérgio Conceiçao only has Nanu’s loss and has his best artillery to try to intimidate the ‘bianconeri’, such as his midfielder Sérgio Oliveira who, in addition to distributing game, is his top scorer in the competition with 3 goals, or Luis Díaz.
At Juventus they trust in the scoring power of Cristiano Ronaldo,
with 4 goals in four games in this ‘Champions’, as well as in the Spanish Álvaro Morata, who adds 6 goals in six duels. A good pair that looks carefully at his partner Paulo Dybala, doubts due to discomfort in his knee. Arthur and Cuadrado, injured, are the casualties for coach Andrea Pirlo.
DATASHEET.
–POSSIBLE ALIGNMENTS.
PORT: Marchesín; Manafá, Pepe, Mbemba, Zaidu; Sérgio Oliveira, Uribe, Otávio; Corona, Marega and Díaz.
JUVENTUS: Szczesny; Danilo, Bonucci, De Ligt, Alex Sandro; Chiesa, Rabiot, Bentancur, McKennie; Morata y Ronaldo.
– REFEREE: From Cerro Grande (ESP).
–STADIO: Estádio do Dragao.
– TIME: 21.00 / Movistar Champions League.
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