Porto and Olympique Marseille meet at Estádio Do Dragão, in a match for this stage of the UEFA Champions League (Group Stage). There is no record of direct confrontations between these two teams in the last 3 years. The last match was played on 13‑07‑2013 and ended with the scoreboard: Olympique Marseille (0‑3) Porto. In this match, the home factor may be decisive, since both teams present considerable differences in the results achieved at home and as a visitor.
Porto :
The home team enters this 3rd round of Group C in 2nd position, with 3 points won, after 1 victory and 1 defeat. In their first match in this group stage, they lost away against Manchester City, by (3‑1). On matchday two, they won at home against Olympiakos Piraeus by (2‑0). This is a stronger team with the support of its fans, since in the last 30 games it has registered 7 victories, 3 draws and 5 defeats as a visitor, with 28 goals scored and 18 suffered; against 12 victories, 1 draw and 2 defeats in their stadium, with 37 goals scored and 12 suffered. The team comes to this match after a away loss against Paços de Ferreira by (3‑2). In the last 10 home matches for all competitions, Porto won 8, drew 1 and lost 1. The team allowed goals to the opponent in 7 of the last 10 matches, so their defense needs to improve, but their attack has scored regularly, as he always scored at least one goal in the last 10 games. In 15 games, he only managed 1 comeback in the 4 games in which he suffered the first goal. There is 1 period that stands out in the last 20 home matches for all competitions: they have conceded 6 of their 17 goals between minutes (16′ ‑ 30 ‘).
The Portuguese team will play at home again for the European competition. Now, against the traditional French club Olympique de Marseille, which has not yet scored points in this edition of the Champions League. For this reason, FC Porto has a good chance of going in search of victory, keeping 100% of victories in their stadium and leaving behind a rival in the fight for qualification.
Olympique Marseille :
After 0 victories, 0 draws and 2 defeats, the visiting team reaches this 3rd round in the 4th position of Group C, without having won any points. The previous round, they lost at home against Manchester City by (0‑3), after in the first match of this group stage having lost by (1‑0) away against Olympiakos Piraeus. This is a team that curiously has been stronger away than at home, since in the last 30 games they have registered 9 wins, 2 draws and 4 losses as a visitor; against 8 victories, 4 draws and 3 defeats in his stadium. In the last 10 away matches for all competitions, Olympique Marseille won 6, drew 1 and lost 3. The team allowed goals to the opponent in 8 of the last 10 matches, so their defense needs to improve, But their attack has scored regularly, having scored goals in 7 of the last 10 games. In 11 games, they conceded the first goal 6 times and never got the comeback. There is 1 period that stands out in the last 7 away matches for all competitions: they have scored 3 of their 6 goals between minutes (16’ ‑ 30 ‘).
Marseille can no longer postpone a recovery in the Champions League if they still dream of qualifying. The team, after two rounds, shows to have an ineffective attack, as they have not scored goals. On the contrary, they have suffered four goals, showing an imbalance in the French team’s game system. Making these adjustments will be essential to return from Portugal with a victory in luggage.
