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Porto v Arsenal Bet Builder Stats & Predictions

Porto v Arsenal Bet Builder Stats & Predictions

Tuesday 20 February, 20242 min read
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Andy Robson

Andy Robson is the most popular betting tipster in the UK. With a combined following in excess of 1 million people across his social media channels, Andy has built a loyal audience by consistently providing quality betting content for over nine years. He is the founder of Andy’s Bet Club, which he launched in 2019.

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Porto v Arsenal

📅
Kick Off: Wednesday 21st February at 20:00
🏆
Competition: Champions League
📺
Watch Live: TNT Sports 1

The second week of the round of 16 fixtures in this season's Champions League is here, and as ever, our experts have been all over the football going on in Europe. Alongside our Napoli v Barcelona bet builder tips, make sure you check out our Champions League bet builder tips and our Champions League accumulator for Wednesday, as well as plenty more free expert football betting predictions from a wide range of leagues and competitions.

Our football betting cheat sheet tool will be on hand all week to guide you through every European game across all three competitions. Inside, we have everything you need to craft a strong bet builder. Before you back your bet builder though, make sure to check out our free bet offers and a selection of the best bookmaker offers to help you bet smarter.

Arsenal renew their assault for continental honours on Wednesday evening when they travel to take on Portuguese giants FC Porto in a tricky-looking Champions League Last 16 first leg test at the Estádio Do Dragão.

The Gunners have been moving up through the gears domestically and their run of five straight victories in the Premier League was accompanied by a superb 21-goal haul.

All things going to plan, Mikel Arteta’s free-scoring Arsenal will expect to outgun Porto in midweek, and the Londoners could take a giant step towards qualification for the Champions League quarter-finals for the first time since 2010.

We’ve laid out a selection of key FC Porto v Arsenal stats for the contest below which should set you up for success if you’re planning on putting together a bet builder for Wednesday’s game.

Porto v Arsenal Cheat Sheet

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You can find FC Porto v Arsenal match stats, on my bet builder stats tool, along with official line-ups one hour before kick-off.

🏆 Match stats: Arsenal to outclass their Portuguese hosts?

Arsenal’s players should have a confident swing in their step following the continuation of their red-hot form at the weekend, and their impressive 5-0 demolition job on Burnley was their second wide-margin victory on the spin following another thumping 6-0 win at West Ham. In both victories, Mikel Arteta deployed a front three of Gabriel Martinelli, Bukayo Saka and Leonardo Trossard to devastating effect, and with that trio combining intelligent movement with unselfish passing, Arsenal’s effectiveness in the final third has gone up a gear. Porto could struggle to cope with Arsenal’s fearsome frontline in Wednesday’s first leg and it’s interesting to note that the Portuguese side lost both meetings with Barcelona in the Champions League group stage, which indicates they could run into trouble against another high calibre outfit. Indeed, Porto have found English clubs too hot to handle in recent European campaigns and since 2017, they’ve lost seven Champions League fixtures out of ten against Premier League opponents. With Arsenal playing some of their best football of the campaign and Porto’s poor record against English clubs also a major factor, backing the Gunners to win on Wednesday is the logical play, while backing Arsenal to score two or more should also be considered. Arsenal have generated an xG of at least 3 in each of their last five assignments and they should enjoy exploiting the generously spacious pitch at the Estádio Do Dragão.

Predictions:

⚽ Arsenal to win @ 1.62

⚽ Over 1.5 Arsenal goals @ 1.80

🎯 Shooting stats: Excellent value on offer

Arsenal’s rampant-looking frontline looks ripe when it comes to picking out some shots market options with Bukayo Saka and Leandro Trossard, in particular, looking like excellent candidates to deliver. 22-year-old Saka has been fizzing with productivity on the right flank for the Gunners and the winger has hit at least one shot on target in 12 of his last 14 appearances. Both Saka and Leandro Trossard are worth backing to produce at least one accurate shot each in Portugal. Belgian international Trossard has made himself virtually undroppable of late and the 29-year-old has mustered 15 attempts in his last five appearances combined, hitting the mark with at least one strike in four of those five runouts. Centre half Gabriel Magalhaes meanwhile, could offer a more niche angle in the standard shots market. The Brazilian is brilliant at making first contact from set plays and the 26-year-old has managed to lodge an effort in four of his last five starts for Arsenal. Wide attacker Galeno looks the likeliest Porto star to inflict some damage. The clever 26-year-old has been averaging 2.60 shots per game in the Champions League this season and up against the unconvincing defender of Ben White, Galeno could get a couple of shots away again.

Predictions:

⚽ Bukayo Saka to have 1+ shots on target @ 1.53

⚽ Leandro Trossard to have 1+ shots on target @ 1.53

⚽ Gabriel Magalhaes to have 1+ shots @ 1.53

⚽ Galeno to have 2+ shots @ 1.53

🚩 Corners stats: Look for Arsenal in the markets

Arsenal didn’t win buckets of corners in the group stage of the Champions League, however, the Gunners did routinely outdo their opponents in the competition’s first phase, losing the corner count in just one of their six matches in Group B. That solitary set-piece misstep, which came on matchday six in a dead rubber with a shuffled team against PSV in Eindhoven, can be dismissed easily enough as a one-off, and Arsenal should enjoy enough possession in the final third to win more corners than their continental opponents again on Wednesday. Porto averaged just 3.30 corners per game across their own six-match group stage campaign and they lost the corner battle in 50% of their Group H fixtures overall. Porto could be forced to cede ground against a possession-hungry Arsenal side this week, so they could fall short in the same area again. Only five teams have bested Arsenal’s 56.5% possession per away game average in the Champions League so far and the Gunners won at least four corners in five of their six group contests before Christmas. With several trends to go on, backing Arsenal to top the corner count and to win over 3.5 corners both appeal, with the latter a modest target to conquer for the in-form Londoners.

Predictions:

⚽ Arsenal corner match bet @ 1.67

⚽ Over 3.5 Arsenal corners @ 1.30

🛑 Fouls stats: Porto players to stick their foot in

Porto’s more defensive players could have their work cut out to keep Arsenal’s flying forwards under wraps in Portugal, and several of the hosts' combatants could rack up fouls in their attempts to disrupt the Gunners’ rhythm. First up, we look to left back, where Jorge Sanchez is expected to swap flanks to replace the injured Zaidu Sanusi. Right footer Sanchez should be more than a little uncomfortable on the opposite side of the pitch, where the serially-fouled Bukayo Saka will be waiting to torment him. Sanchez has started just five times for Porto in all competitions this season, so expect ring rust and mistimed challenges if he features. The 26-year-old Mexican looks like a viable candidate to commit 2+ fouls. Elsewhere, hard-hitting Argentinean anchorman Alan Varela deserves attention in the 1+ fouls stakes. The 22-year-old committed at least one foul in four of his six appearances in the Champions League group stage, and with tackling a major part of his remit, the potential for Varela to deliver in the same market is high again. Varela’s fellow midfielder Pepe Aquino represents the best option in terms of price. The 26-year-old’s smart passing and technical nous usually catches the eye, however, the Brazilian is also a consistent fouler and he sinned at least once in all but one of his five run-outs in the Champions League group phase. Aquino’s defensive workload should be hefty against Arsenal and a target of one foul seems reasonable again for the 26-year-old.

Predictions:

⚽ Jorge Sanchez to commit 2+ fouls @ 1.62

⚽ Alan Varela to commit 1+ fouls @ 1.33

⚽ Pepe Aquino to commit 1+ fouls @ 1.73

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