Porto take on the visitors Manchester United in the round 2 match of UEFA Europa League group stage. The match will be played on Thursday, October 3rd at Estádio do Dragão (Porto).
Porto have failed to win the Portuguese championship for two consecutive seasons, which for a club of their stature is almost a crisis. Notably, a presidential election was held in the spring, and the young (for a football executive) André Villas-Boas was elected. Naturally, a coaching change followed, with Sérgio Conceição handing over responsibilities to Vítor Bruno Fernandes. Fernandes made an impressive debut, coming back from 0-3 against Sporting to win the Super Cup on penalties. Following that, Porto managed to rack up victories, although Sporting took revenge in the league with a convincing 2-0 win. Porto remained unbeaten until their visit to Norway, where Bodø/Glimt, despite being down to 10 men for much of the match, still secured a 3-2 win.
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Manchester United has struggled to make significant progress. Under Erik ten Hag, the "Red Devils" seem to be going through a typical cycle of one of Sir Alex Ferguson's successors, where early successes are followed by a highly inconsistent continuation. Ten Hag was reportedly close to being sacked last spring after his side barely secured a place in the top four, or even as early as December when United finished last in their Champions League group. However, the FA Cup triumph delayed his departure, allowing the club to attempt a squad rebuild under his management. His influence was evident with the arrivals of Zirkzee, followed by De Ligt and Mazraoui. There were other signings, but Joro suffered a serious injury shortly after his transfer, and Ugarte arrived only at the transfer deadline, requiring time to adjust to the Premier League. Despite these reinforcements, United has continued to drop points frequently, including in the Europa League, where Eriksen scored the opener against Twente, but his mistake led to a second-half equalizer, ending the match 1-1.
Manchester United holds the upper hand, having eliminated Porto in both 1997 and 2009, combining a win and a draw on each occasion. However, in 2004, Porto used the same formula to knock out the English side! The "Dragons" have a good chance to take advantage of the visitors' poor form. The recommendation is to bet on a home win with a "draw no bet" handicap.
Prediction for the match: Porto to win with 0.0 handicap.
