Arsenal vs Porto Champions League round of 16 second leg preview: Where to watch, kick-off time, possible line-ups
Tuesday, March 12, 2024
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When is it? How can you watch it? What are the possible line-ups? All you need to know about the UEFA Champions League round of 16 second leg between Arsenal and Porto.
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Arsenal and Porto meet in their UEFA Champions League round of 16 second leg on Tuesday 12 March.
Arsenal vs Porto at a glance
When: Tuesday 12 March (21:00 CET kick-off)
Where: Arsenal Stadium, London
What: UEFA Champions League round of 16 second leg
How to follow: Build-up and live coverage can be found here
Where to watch Arsenal vs Porto on TV
Fans can find their local UEFA Champions League broadcast partner(s) here.
What do you need to know?
Galeno's brilliant last-gasp strike in the first leg gave Porto the narrowest of leads to take to London. While Arsenal will still feel confident of overturning the deficit, Mikel Arteta will be frustrated that his side failed to hit their stride in the opener, failing to register a shot on target in a match for the first time in two years.
The Gunners will have to overcome the weight of history as well as their Portuguese visitors in the return – they have won only one of their last nine matches in the Champions League round of 16 (D1 L7) and face the prospect of elimination at this stage for the eighth time in a row.
Predicted line-ups
Arsenal: Raya; White, Saliba, Gabriel, Kiwior; Odegaard, Rice, Jorginho; Saka, Havertz, Trossard
Misses next match if booked: Rice
Porto: Diogo Costa; João Mário, Pepe, Otávio, Wendell; Varela. Nico González, Pepê; Francisco Conceição, Evanilson, Galeno
Misses next match if booked: Fábio Cardoso, Francisco Conceição, João Mário, Pepê
Form guide
Arsenal
Form (all competitions, most recent first): WWWLWW
Most recent result: Arsenal 2-1 Brentford, 09/03, English Premier League
English Premier League table
Porto
Form (all competitions, most recent first): WWWDWW
Most recent result: Portimonense 0-3 Porto, 08/03, Portuguese Liga
Portuguese Primeira Liga table
Expert predictions
Joe Terry, Arsenal reporter
After a difficult 90 minutes in the first leg against a tough and disciplined Porto, Arsenal are fully aware of what they must do to reach the last eight in the Champions League for the first time since 2010. Nevertheless, I expect Arteta to stick with broadly the same line-up, trusting in his players' ability to implement lessons learned from the Estádio do Dragão and in the Arsenal crowd's desire to create the kind of atmosphere that drives his players over the line.
Carlos Machado, Porto reporter
Already on a high after Galeno's late, wonder-goal winner in the first leg, Porto received another huge mental boost after a 5-0 league win against arch-rivals Benfica. With the pressure all on Arsenal, we will surely see more evidence of the Dragons' Champions League DNA. They are brave and a very hard team to beat, capable of standing up to any side and, because of that, fearsome opponents.
What the coaches say
Mikel Arteta, Arsenal manager: "We will have to tweak a few things to generate more chances than we did in the first leg. This is the level of the Champions League, facing top teams. We will have to be better on Tuesday. I hope the fans bring the noise and we can do it together in our stadium and reach the quarter-finals."
Sérgio Conceição, Porto coach: "Porto have come to London to compete, win the game and go through to the quarter-finals. We are full of respect for Arsenal but no fear. When the ball starts rolling, there will be quality on both sides. Whoever plays for Arsenal, we must be prepared to respond positively at the back and look to get on the front foot."
Where is the 2024 Champions League final?
The best of the best will be crowned on the ultimate stage when the 2023/24 Champions League season concludes at London's prestigious Wembley Stadium on Saturday 1 June.