An under-appreciated draw, the first leg of the Champions League round of 16 matchup between Portuguese giants Porto and Swiss power Basel was just as entertaining as we could have hoped. While a 1-1 scoreline doesn’t look like much, it was a delightful match that promises more in the second leg at Porto. Of course, history may already be stacking things against Basel, and they’ll have a lot to overcome to move on to the next round.
Porto vs. Basel, Champions League 2015: Time, TV schedule and team news
Swiss power Basel are working to overcome historical precedent as they try to beat Porto to advance in the Champions League.
Valerio Pennicino/Getty Images
Porto have been tremendously successful against Swiss sides in their history, getting beaten just once in seven matches, and that one coming 34 years ago. On the flipside, Basel has never won in Portugal in five tries, and in 11 total matches against teams from that nation, have scored just four goals. That’s not promising for a match that they absolutely have to find at least one goal in for them to advance.
Key player - Yacine Brahimi (Porto)
Brahimi’s presence as Porto’s creative nexus will be all the more important in this match with Jackson Martinez sidelined with injury. It will be up to him to break down Basel’s line with his through balls and supporting runs, and his shots from long range will help pull the center backs up to give Vincent Aboubabakar room to work with.
Key Matchup - Adrian (Porto) vs. Taulant Xhaka (Basel)
One of the keys to Porto’s efforts to deal with the absence of Martinez will be to work in the wings more to give Aboubakar more direct support. Adrian and Cristian Tello will be doing all they can to help overwhelm the middle of Basel’s defense, so it will be up to the sorely under-rated Xhaka to keep Adrian wide as much as possible to give some relief to his center backs. If he struggles or fails, this could get ugly fast for Basel.
Porto injuries and suspensions
Out: Jackson Martinez (groin) In doubt: None
Basel injuries and suspensions
Out: Marek Suchy (suspension), Matias Delgado (ill), Ivan Ivanov (knee) In doubt: None
The loss of Martinez is one that Porto will feel very keenly. The big Colombian striker is at the heart of all they do in attack, and him going down over the weekend in the derby against Braga is bad news for them. Similarly, Suchy’s suspension will keep Basel’s best defender out of the squad, giving them a compromised back line for a second straight Champions League match after Fabian Schar was suspended for the first leg.
Match Date/Time: Tuesday, 3:45 p.m. ET, 7:45 p.m. local
Venue: Estádio do Dragão, Porto, Portugal
TV: Fox Sports 2 (U.S. - English), ESPN Deportes (U.S. - Spanish), Sportsnet World (Canada), Sky Sports 1/HD, Sky Sports 5/HD (U.K.), TVI (Portugal), RTS Un (Switzerland)
Online: FOX Sports Go, Watch ESPN, Fox Soccer 2GO (U.S.), Sportsnet World Now (Canada), Sky GO (U.K.)
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