Porto and Barcelona meet this Wednesday with a 20:00 kick-off in Portugal for this UEFA Champions League Group H meeting. Both sides won their opening fixtures and would take a big step towards the Last 16 with a win. Here’s a look at the Porto vs Barcelona H2H.
Porto vs Barcelona H2H Record
There have been 8 competitive meetings overall.
- Porto Wins: 3
- Draws: 0
- Barcelona Wins: 5
Despite both clubs being Champions League regulars, you have to go way back to the 1999/00 season for the last UCL meetings. That was also in the group stage with Barca recording 4-2 and 2-0 wins over the Portuguese club.
The sides also met in a Semi-Final in 1994 with a brace from Hristo Stoichkov helping Barca advance. The Catalans have the better of the overall H2H with two of Porto’s three wins in this fixture coming in a UEFA Cup 1st Round tie way back in 1972/73.
Last time out…
The sides haven’t met since they contested the 2011 UEFA Super Cup Final. Champions League holders Barcelona were on top of their game at that stage under Pep Guardiola and won the match in Monaco 2-0.
Goals from Leo Messi and Cesc Fabregas were enough to defeat Porto who had won the Europa League a few months earlier, seeing off domestic rivals Braga in Dublin.
Porto vs Barcelona H2H: Potential MVP
Joao Felix will inevitably attract a lot of attention as he returns to his native Portugal. The forward emerged as one of the brightest young talents in world football at Benfica, but he was also previously on Porto’s books for seven years as an academy player.
Felix has previously scored against Porto, netting for Benfica in a league match during the 2018/19 season before his move to Atletico Madrid that summer.
Did you know that Joao Felix was part of FC Porto's academy? pic.twitter.com/MjJ4MfrTJ3
— Barça Universal (@BarcaUniversal) October 2, 2023
Having recently joined Barcelona on loan, Felix’s long-term future is still up in the air and it’s nights like this where he’ll want to make contributions as he bids to earn a permanent move to Barca.
He has already made an impact in this season’s Champions League. Felix scored two and assisted another as Barcelona demolished Antwerp 5-0 on matchday one.
Porto: Players in focus
Taremi to lead the line
Mehdi Taremi has never previously faced Barcelona in the Champions League and has only managed 1 goal in 4 matches in the competition against Spanish clubs.
A busy night for Diogo Costa?
Diogo Costa is one of Europe’s brightest young goalkeepers and he’ll be hoping to prove his worth in this big game against big name opposition.
Galeno to target Cancelo
Galeno was the star for Porto as they won their opening game 3-1 away to Shakhtar Donetsk. The winger bagged a brace and could be set for a fascinating duel with Barca’s attacking full-back Joao Cancelo.
Barcelona: Players in focus
Lewandowski key to Barca’s UCL hopes
Barcelona’s hopes of going deep in this competition largely depend on Robert Lewandowski’s ability to keep scoring goals. The Pole has 2 goals in 2 games vs Porto in his career.
Fermin to feature
Barcelona are short on numbers in midfield with Pedri and Frenkie de Jong sidelined through injury so there are likely to be more minutes for youngster Fermin Lopez here.
Gavi to take on extra responsibility
Those midfield issues add to the pressure on Gavi. He’s still only 19, but will be expected to take a senior role in Porto on Wednesday night.
Final Prediction
Both teams have bought themselves a bit of leeway in what is a relatively weak group by winning their opening games. Barcelona’s recent away record in Europe is not good at all, so it’s no certainty that they win here, particularly given those midfield problems and this could be a very competitive match.
We’re going for a 1-1 draw with Galeno to score first.
