By Jordan Carreno

The second leg of the Champions League Quarter-finals has Liverpool heading down to Portugal to take on FC Porto. Kickoff is scheduled for 3:00 PM EST on Wednesday.

FC Porto v Liverpool — 04/17/2019 2000 GMT

The Reds take a 2–0 advantage into their away leg against Porto looking to book their place in the Semi-finals of the Champions League. Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool find themselves in a comfortable position but still have work to do to ensure their Champions League hopes stay alive. This game will again be pushed to the money grab that is B/R Live, but have no fear as all 3 LFC Tampa Bay pubs will be open, serving, and showing the match. With that being said, let’s get into the talking points.

The Favorites

At this time last season, many were surprised to see the Reds making an appearance in the semis. It was our first real go in the competition since Rafa’s side had been dismantled and for many the only expectation was that Liverpool make it out of the group stage. That Jurgen Klopp’s team ended up getting all the way to the final was a bit of a shock. Now though, Liverpool might be the favorites.

At present, Liverpool are the only semi-finalists remaining from last season’s competition. In the last year and half, Liverpool have claimed the scalps of some of Europe’s biggest names. PSG, Bayern Munich, Napoli, Roma, and Man City have all fallen victim to Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool. On top of that it took cynical play from the greatest side to ever grace the Champions League, Sergio Ramos’ Real Madrid, to stop Liverpool from winning the whole thing. Though we don’t have the experience in recent times of going far and playing in the Champions League, we have proven in the short space we’ve been here that we are a fearsome task for anyone on the continent.

Though I won’t get too far ahead of myself and say that the Reds will win the Champions League, we surely must be the favorites of the teams left. Yes, Messi’s Barcelona is possibly waiting to greet us in the next round. Yes, Cristiano Ronaldo is still in the competition (whoops). Yes, Pep Guardiola’s City side are still in with a chance. Despite all that, none of those teams went as far as this Liverpool side did last season. None of those teams boast the mystical history that surrounds Liverpool as a club in the European Cup.

Jurgen Klopp will undoubtedly have his team focused on Porto and the task at hand come Wednesday night, however behind the scenes there must be a quiet confidence among the staff and players that there isn’t a side in competition that can derail their goal of returning to the final and winning it. The way the events unfolded in Kiev will have left a sour taste in everyone’s mouth and the desire to right those wrongs will be in the forefront of all their minds. It might be strange to think given where we were as a club just a 2 seasons ago, but Liverpool might be the most feared side in all of Europe.

Ruining Redemption

FC Porto will be desperate to make up for last year’s 5–0 defeat

At the end of the first leg, and after going to greet their travelling support, the whole Porto team gathered into a huddle for a little pep talk. It appeared that they had been somewhat pleased with the outcome of the match despite the scoreline and were trying to hype eachother up with the idea that they were still in the tie. There seemed to be a bit of belief within their ranks that they could turn it all around when it came time to play at their place.

For Porto, it will have all gone better than the last time they faced off against Liverpool. Whilst last season’s matchup saw the second leg rendered meaningless by a 5–0 first leg scoreline, at least this time Porto will have a chance headed into the second match. Though they would have prefered to avoid defeat, in their minds there will be a chance for them to defy the odds and make it through to the next round.

This season they’ve won all their matches at home in the Champions league, conceding 3 goals and scoring 10 goals in 4 games. Though they may have been given a favorable group, Porto managed the task of turning around a 2–1 first leg, away defeat by winning 3–1 at their ground and knocking out Roma in the last round.

Much like we view Anfield as being a fortress, Porto’s team and fans will feel the same way about their ground. Though Liverpool went to the Dragao last year and won convincingly, that result was an anomaly when compared to Porto’s otherwise strong record at home. In fact, it was the largest home loss Porto have suffered in the European Cup. So, more than just the belief in their own home-field advantage, there will be a desire to defend the honor and glory of their ground.

Fueling into that self belief for Porto will be the return of some key players that missed the first leg at Anfield. Hector Herera, the club’s captain, and ex-Madrid centerback Pepe will both be available on Wednesday after missing the first leg. Pepe’s inclusion will allow for Militao to move to his more natural position on the right wing and Porto will obviously benefit from having their captain available.

Porto will feel that they have a chance to get something out of the game. They will have key players returning, their home crowd behind them, and a burning desire for revenge. Though Liverpool have shown the ability and mentality in recent weeks to handle these types of scenarios, they must make sure to quash that belief as quickly as possible. The Reds have done fantastically to give themselves the upper hand heading into the second leg and hopefully they can swiftly smother any hope Porto might have.

Count on the Counter

There should be space for Liverpool’s front 3 to hurt Porto on the counter

With all that belief and with the first leg going how it went, it means Porto are going to have to come out aggressively against the Reds. We are likely to see a lively atmosphere which the Porto players will try to feed off of and build upon in order to turn around the deficit. Whilst in the first leg they were content with sitting back and trying to counter Liverpool, Porto will now have to seek out possession and go forward in search of goals. It will mean plenty of space for Liverpool’s famed counter attack to exploit.

Jurgen Klopp’s side haven’t been given many opportunities this season to play the type of free-flowing, counter attacking football that we all grew accustomed to seeing. Part of that has come down to Liverpool’s newly earned reputation across the continent as being one of the best countering sides in the world. It also has to do with our newfound defensive stoutness. One needs only to look at how Man City handled their match at Anfield in the league and how Bayern Munich chose to set up in last round’s first leg to see the level of respect this Liverpool side is afforded.

So, with Porto having no choice but to try to score goals at some point, it will present a rare opportunity for Liverpool to create the type of chaotic match that Jurgen Klopp once called heavy metal football. There will be more chances for transitions, more space to counter into, and more chances to press and put pressure on the Porto players. With Mo Salah finding top form, Firmino playing at the peak of his powers, and Mane reaching new heights himself, it could get ugly again for Porto.

Though Porto will undoubtedly be hyper aware of the damage an away goal will do to their hopes of moving on, they have no choice but to try to come out and score goals. Though a 2–0 aggregate scoreline means they can grow into the game if they wish to, they will eventually have to open up in an attempt to score goal. When they do come forward, it is on Liverpool to be as lethal as possible on the counter.

Prediction

We head back to our European table for this one. Last time out, David and I both picked up 2 points for predicting a Liverpool win with a cleansheet. I now lead by a score of 11–8.

For the first time in a while I think we can all be pretty confident in predicting how Porto will choose to come at us. They have to score goals and I don’t think they’re going to be reserved and pick their moment. The crowd will be up for it, especially with the memories of last season’s match up, and I think Porto will want to come out and build off of that. In their eyes, if they can score early it might shock Liverpool’s system and snowball into something much greater.

Unfortunately for them, this Liverpool side now has the experience of being in the Champions League to go along with their ability to defend well and punish opposition on the counter. I think we see an almost identical side to the one we saw start against Chelsea with the only change being Gini coming in for Keita.

It will be a tense first 15 minutes where we really have to dig in and fight off an aggressive Porto side. After weathering the storm we finally get a solid foothold in the game and quiet their crowd down and begin to suffocate their hopes of turning things around. We score and burst their bubble before eventually running out comfortable winners. 3–0.

David’s Prediction: David is in Basque country out in Spain. He isn’t able to make his usual prediction, but is going with 2–0.