Champions League Odds : Malaga v Porto as Roque Santa Cruz looking value for first goalscorer
Malaga face Porto in the Champions League as Bet365 release the latest odds on all the action from Europe’s Premier competition.
Porto make the journey to Spain on Wednesday evening to take on Malaga in the Champions League round of 16 second leg and with the side from Portugal currently leading 1-0, you would say the contest is in the balance heading into this encounter.
Malaga would have been disappointed to not grab themselves an away goal in Portugal last month, but at the same time, they did not let their opponents get out of sight.
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Porto will come into this one full of confidence and they know if they can get on the score-sheet first, then they leave Malaga a lot of work to do.
Looking at the La Liga outfit to begin with, they have struggled in recent weeks and are now without a win in their last four matches. They are now in the top four on goal-difference only in the league, so don’t come into this one in the best of form.
However, the Estadio La Rosaleda is sure to be rocking on Wednesday and Malaga have been in fine form on home soil in this compeition.
They have kept three clean sheets in four matches and are yet to be beaten on their own turf, so should be confident they can come out on top this time out.
Goals have been hard to come by over the last few weeks though and it is in games like this where someone like Roque Santa Cruz has to show his quality on the biggest stage. The 31-year-old has plenty of big-game experience and looks decent value at 6/1 to score first in this one.
As for Porto, they come into this one in fine form as they are now on a 17-game unbeaten run have conceded just two goals in their last ten matches, so are going to be tough for Malaga to break down on Wednesday night.
They are sure to come to Spain and pride themselves on being defensively solid, but with players such as Joao Moutinho in the squad, the Portuguese team are sure to create chances as well. Moutinho was on the score-sheet in the first leg and at 25/1, he is superb value to score first here.
As they are on such a good run and full of confidence, it is no surprise that the bookies have Porto as the 3/10 favourites to qualify, but they cannot afford to be at all complacent as the tie is far from won and they will see that Malaga do have a strong record on home soil.
Both of these sides enjoy playing an attractive style of football and they are each more than capable of reaching the final eight of the Champions League. Porto of course have a great deal of experience and knowhow in this tournament, but Malaga have looked very impressive in their first campaign in Europe’s elite club competition.
With not a great deal to chose between the two, it should be a cracking fixture from Spain on Wednesday evening.
