Porto vs. Chelsea
Venue: Estadio do Dragao
Kick off: 7:45pm
Striker Diego Costa will be available to return as the domestic ban that he is serving does not prevent him from playing in European games as Chelsea will be hoping to make it two wins out of two in the Champions League when they travel to Group G rivals, Porto, on Tuesday (today) evening.
The Portuguese side will be looking for their first win of the campaign as they welcome former manager, Jose Mourinho, back to Estadio do Dragao.
Porto are still looking for their first win in the Champions League this season, after having to come from behind to secure a 2-2 draw with Dynamo Kiev last time out.
The team’s domestic form has also been mixed at the start of the campaign. They are unbeaten in their opening six matches in the Primeira Liga, but dropped points at the weekend in a 2-2 draw with Moreirense.
The club won the tournament under Chelsea manager, Jose Mourinho, during the 2003-04 season before he left for his first stint at Stamford Bridge.
They reached the quarter-finals last season, but were beaten by Bayern Munich.
Vincent Aboubakar has been in strong goal-scoring form early in the season for Porto, netting four goals in six appearances in the league, and a brace in the draw with Dynamo.
Despite bringing in goalkeeper Iker Casillas from Real Madrid over the summer, Julen Lopetegui’s side have struggled to keep clean sheets so far this season, while letting in six goals in seven outings so far.
Porto progressed from the group stage of last season’s Champions League without losing any of their fixtures, while also scoring 16 goals and keeping three clean sheets to finish at the top of their group.
Chelsea come into this match looking to make it back-to-back wins at the start of their Champions League campaign, having thrashed Maccabi Tel Aviv 4-0 in their opening fixture earlier this month.
The performance in that match was a stark contrast to the Premier League champions’ league form, with Mourinho’s side having won just two of their eight matches in the English top flight so far this season.
The Blues are unbeaten following their win over the Israeli side though, beating London rivals Arsenal 2-0 before coming from behind to share a 2-2 draw with Newcastle United on Saturday, while also knocking League One side Walsall out of the League Cup.
Chelsea have had an impressive run in Europe over the last four years, winning the Champions League in 2012 before claiming the Europa League title a year later. They stumbled at the round of 16 last season though, losing to Paris Saint-Germain in extra time.
Chelsea had the same record as their opponents in the group stage of the competition last year, winning four and drawing twice to finish at the top of their group.
For the hosts, striker Andre Silva will be missing as he was ruled out for a month last weekend after picking up an ankle injury while playing for the reserves.
Porto possible starting lineup: Casillas, Pereira, Maicon, Marcano, Layun, Never, Andre, Imbula, Corona, Aboubakar, Brahimi.
Chelsea possible starting lineup: Begovic, Ivanovic, Cahill, Terry, Azpilicueta, Matic, Fabregas, Willian, Oscar, Hazard, Costa.