Last year at this time, Juventus was stuck playing against Bayern Munich in the Round of 16 in in the Champions League. The Old Lady nearly pulled off the stunner, forcing the Reds into extra time before ultimately succumbing. Now, the Italians are back, and they've got a much easier draw ahead of them here in the UCL. A road test with FC Porto shouldn't prove to be all that much work, and a win on Portuguese soil should cement a place in the last eight.
Don't miss the Champions League action from Estadio do Dragao at 2:45 p.m. ET on Wednesday, February 22, 2017. Catch every moment of the match live on FOX Sports 1.
Soccer Odds at BookMaker.eu
FC Porto +257
Juventus +127
Draw +213
Over/Under 2
Odds Analysis
FC Porto knows that its best bet here to take out Juve is by being methodical in defense and hoping to swipe a goal somewhere along the way. That's why this total of a flat 2 is the lowest of any of the matches in the Round of 16 thus far in the Champions League and why it's no lock to see any goals, let alone two or more in this one.
Juventus is actually favored at +127 and will feel like it can kill off this tie here on the road before going back home. Still, Porto is live at PK +153 or +257 on the moneyline.
Juve is -380 to advance into the quarterfinals.
How They Got Here
Juventus only went 1-2-0 at home in Group H of the Champions League, but this is its grand reward for posting a sparking 3-0-0 record in three very tough venues on the road earlier in the term. Juve outscored Sevilla, Lyon and Dinamo Zagreb 8-1 and picked up all nine points in those three fixtures, making them the only team to have a perfect road record thus far in the Champions League.
Porto had its chances for sure, but it just couldn't figure out how to get past Leicester City in Group G. With as poorly as the Foxes have been this season, this really is an indictment, not just on this Portuguese side, but the entirety of soccer in Portugal at the moment. Sporting was taken out in the first round of this event and only managed three points, and suddenly, a Porto side that wasn't a given to get into the last 16 of the Champions League doesn't even look good having done so against a group with a poor English team, a Belgium team in Club Brugge with no teeth at the moment, and a Danish side in FC Copenhagen that was just thrilled to drop into the Europa League.
Recent Form
Porto is only second best in the Liga right now to Benfica, but there is a lot to like here about the form. The club is 11-1-0 here at the Estadio do Dragao, allowing just seven goals in the 12 home matches to date. Then again, there's a big difference between playing fellow Portuguese sides and playing against Juventus, and that has to be remembered in this one.
Juve has run away from the rest of Serie A and is sure to win the league title again. The team has a seven-point edge 25 matches into the 38-fixture season, and blowing this from here doesn't seem like an option. That said, the team is rolling right now with seven consecutive victories across all competitions.
Free Soccer Betting Pick
This is a tough one for Porto. There are some players here for sure, but the talent gap is still fairly large. The veterans like Mario Mandzukic, Andrea Barzagli, Dani Alves and Gigi Buffon have been here and done this before and know what it takes to come on the road and get a result in a match like this one. We suspect this will be a tightly run affair where neither side gives an inch defensively, and that bodes well for a Juve/Under parlay.
Champions League Odds: Juventus 1, FC Porto 0
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