Champions League: Porto match preview

By: j | September 16th, 2008

A struggling Luis Aragonés-led Fenerbahçe face Porto at Estádio do Dragão in Champions League action tomorrow.

For Luis Aragonés the return to European competition comes at an inopportune time as his Yellow Canaries have experienced a very difficult start to the Süper Lig season and are facing a number of problematic injuries. With two losses in the first three matches the club is struggling to find its form and have puzzling mix of top caliber players not playing on the same page. In addition to this they are facing the Porto match without the services of Deivid de Souza to long term injury plus key veterans Semih Şentürk and Edu Dracena. Along with the problems of adjusting to the more disciplined tactical approach of Luis Aragonés, it has been very difficult in combination with injuries, the club that went extremely far in the competition last year has been a consistent disappointment over the past month.

Jesualdo Ferreira season as the Dragões manager has been an interesting one as well, where they went through a lengthy pre-season, started up the campaign favouably, including the Clássico against rivals Benfica, lost Ricardo Quaresma to Inter Milan and then come to a complete dead-stop in play with the extended international break over the last two weeks. How this will impact general play is unclear but the issue of being match sharp after such a layoff could be a issue. In his pre-match press-conference he noted:

“We need to win this match. Ever since I’ve became the coach of this team we’ve always done everything we could to win and that’s what we’re going to try once again. We’re obviously a different squad, with new players getting in and others going out of the team, but our ambition is the same as always. I want, above all, to see a strong F.C. Porto, competitive and eager to win, as it has done in other European campaigns. To win the first match is important in any competition, but it isn’t decisive or determinant. Nevertheless, we’ll play to win the match. We’re ready for it. For what I know, Fenerbahçe isn’t weaker. They’ve kept most of their key players and they’ve acquired the Spanish league top scorer. For me, Fenerbahçe is a great team, with a large number of players used to win in major competitions and they’re definitely a strong opponent.”

I expect the following lineups:

Fenerbahçe
Volkan Demirel
Gökhan Gönül, Önder Turacı, Diego Lugano, and Roberto Carlos
Kâzım Kâzım (Colin Kazım-Richards), Claudio Maldonado, Selçuk Şahin, Uğur Boral
Alex, Daniel Güiza

Porto
Helton
Cristian Săpunaru, Pedro Emanuel, Bruno Alves and Nelson Benítez/Jorge Fucile
Tomás Costa, Raul Meireles and Lucho González
Mariano González, Lisandro López and Cristian Rodríguez

Fenerbahçe can expect a highly supportive crowd at Estádio do Dragão. The attacking midfield and striking trio of the Dragões will cause fits to Fenerbahçe and they will need to exhibit a higher degree of marking, patience and composure or they will be facing a very long night in Porto. In the attack, the counter will be the Yellow Canaries best option which could fare well for Daniel Güiza.

I will report on the match as it concludes.