Porto Champions League group stage draw: Best and worst case scenario for the Portuguese champions
The 32 teams that have qualified for this season’s UEFA Champions League have now been determined, with FC Porto set to discover who will be drawn in their group.
As Portuguese champions, FC Porto go into pot 1 automatically - despite the fact that their coefficient ranking would ordinarily only be sufficient to see them go into pot 2 - meaning that they are going to avoid being drawn against some of the best clubs in the world such as Liverpool, Bayern Munich, Real Madrid and Juventus.
However, pot 2 is still almost exclusively made up of heavyweights of the game, as you would expect from the UEFA Champions League, while there are also some incredibly strong outfits in both pot 3 and 4 that Porto should be looking to avoid.
Here, we assess what is likely to, at least on paper, be deemed the best and worst case scenario for Porto as they look to make a run in Europe’s main club competition.
Best case scenario
Pot 2 team: Ajax
The Champions League semi-finalists of 2018-19 would undoubtedly be a hugely challenging opposition for FC Porto - and for anyone for that matter - but the fact of the matter is that every team in pot 2 is, unsuprisingly, incredibly strong. And without meaning to show any disrespect for the Dutch champions, they are perhaps the best of bad options. You could also make a case that Shakhtar Donetsk would be deemed a good draw for Porto, but if they are handed any of the other 6 sides in pot 2, they certainly won’t be considered favourites to top their group, which they perhaps will be if they get Ajax (or Shakhtar).
Pot 3 team: Krasnodar
Pot 3 is also incredibly competitive, with really very little to separate all the sides. Champions League semi-finalists RB Leipzig, alongside Europa League finalists Inter Milan, are both in there, joined by two other impressive Italian outfits in Atalanta and Lazio, as well as four other very strong sides such as RB Salzburg, Dynamo Kiev, Olympiakos and Krasnodar.
All of these sides are renowned across Europe and boast very strong European experience, and they would all offer Porto a great challenge. Perhaps the best option, though, is Krasnodar. Porto, although they did actually go out of the Champions League qualifiers last season against Krasnodar, do overall have a very solid record against Russian outfits, and of all the options, are perhaps best placed to defeat them home and away than any of the other sides mentioned. Dynamo Kiev and Olympiakos would be reasonable ties for Porto too, but Krasnodar the best. Ultimately, Porto should probably be hoping to avoid RB Leipzig and the Italian sides. Lazio were poor in the Europa League last season though, so Porto could also fare well against them.
Pot 4 team: Ferencvaros
What a story for Ferencvaros to make it into the Champions League group stage. It is not all that often that Hungarian sides do so, and it is a remarkable achievement. They go into this tournament as heavy underdogs, but of course should not be discounted - they are absolutely here on merit and must have good quality to have been able to get to this point. At the same time, they are on paper the weakest side in the competition by a fair distance alongside Danish champions Midtjylland, and if Porto are handed a group alongside either of them, they would feel comfortable about their chances of at least qualifying for the Europa League by finishing 3rd, regardless of the other two sides in their group.
Worst case scenario
Pot 2 team: Manchester City
Take your pick, really. Other than Ajax and Shakhtar, there isn’t much to differentiate between the quality of the other sides in pot 2. Porto, like all Portuguese outfits, have a poor record against English and Spanish opposition, so any of Manchester City, Manchester United, Chelsea, Barcelona and Atletico Madrid would be very challenging for Porto, while everyone knows the qualities of Borussia Dortmund.
Probably, though, Manchester City are the toughest side of them all purely because of their attacking talent and their sheer desperation to win this competition. But any side from pot 2 is going to be tough for Porto.
Pot 3 team: RB Leipzig
This was a tough one to call, because it was really between Inter Milan and RB Leipzig. On paper, there really isn’t much to separate these two sides at all. Essentially, Porto really need to avoid this duo to be confident of advancing in the Champions League. RB Leipzig have been chosen in the end after their Champions League run, but Inter Milan were very impressive both domestically and in the Europa League last season, so you can definitely make a strong case that they would be even more difficult.
Pot 4 team: Marseille
Porto shouldn’t be having too many problems against the vast majority of the pot 4 teams, but there are perhaps two teams in particular that would be harder than the others. One of those is Bundesliga outfit Borussia Monchengladbach, while the other is the side selected - Marseille. Managed by former Porto manager Andre Vilas-Boas, it may be written in the stars that Porto will be drawn against the French outfit - and having seen what a quality side they have become under Vilas-Boas, they would undoubtedly pose a major threat to FC Porto. If this were the group they were given, it would be very feasible that they would end up finishing last.
The draw for the UEFA Champions League group stage will take place at 17:00 CET on Thursday 1st October.
Wilson Manafa. Photo author: Дмитрий Пукалик. License link.
