Porto vs Antwerp Prediction - Soccer Picks 11/7/23

Porto (2-0-1) vs Antwerp (0-0-3)

Tuesday, November 7, 2023 at 3 pm (Estádio do Dragão)

Porto -250/Antwerp +880 - Over/Under: 2.5 Click Here for the Latest Odds

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Porto are welcoming Antwerp in Round 4 of the UEFA Champions League on Tuesday, November 7, 2023, at Estádio do Dragão. The Dragons are currently 2nd in Group H with six points, three behind Barcelona, while Antwerp lost all three matches so far. With a victory in this one, Porto would practically book their place in the knockout stage. Here is our Porto vs Antwerp betting preview and prediction.

Porto (Form and News)

After winning two of their opening three UEFA Champions League (UCL) outings in Group H this campaign (L1), Porto know that another victory here puts them in the driving seat for progression to the knockout rounds. With difficult matches against Barcelona and Shakhtar Donetsk still yet to come, the visit of Royal Antwerp, who the Portuguese side comfortably beat 4-1 in Round 3, could be viewed as their easiest route to another three-point haul.

Porto make a swift return home having suffered a shock 1-0 loss here against lowly Estoril Praia in Liga Portugal action at the weekend, their first home domestic loss at Estádio do Dragão since February. Given that the hosts have remarkably not lost back-to-back home competitive outings since October 2008, the alarm bells shouldn’t be ringing too loudly, especially when glancing at their record of winning five of six prior UCL matches against Belgian opposition which should offer a timely confidence boost.

Hot stat: Only one of Porto’s last seven matches saw both teams score.

Player to watch: Ahead of this matchday, Porto’s Evanilson is the UCL’s joint topscorer with three strikes to his name, all of which came in the reverse H2H!

Sergio Conceicao will be without Gabriel Veron (thigh) and Ivan Marcano (knee). Galeno (muscle) and Wendell (injury) are questionable to feature on Tuesday.

Antwerp (Form and News)

Unlike their hosts here, visiting Antwerp claimed a huge domestic win at the weekend as they beat Genk 3-2 on home soil to push themselves back up the Belgian Pro League standings. That win served as just their third success across their last 11 outings however (D3, L5), with Mark van Bommel’s side continuing to be hindered by their defensive fragilities.

Their leaky backline has been especially exposed on their return to the UCL as they’ve lost all three of the Group H matches to date, conceding 12 goals in the process - the most of any side in the competition. Their prior away loss to Barcelona in Round 1 (5-0) saw them concede three times in the opening 25 minutes so the message from Van Bommel to his side will be clear, they need to hold out for much longer on this occasion!

Player to watch: Vincent Janssen has been their main threat, scoring seven times this season with the last three all coming before the 20th minute.

Van Bommel cannot count on Mandela Keita (knee), Jacob Ondrejka (injury), Anthony Valencia (broken calfbone), and Davino Verhulst (knee). Sam Vines (knock) is questionable to play.

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Porto vs Antwerp H2H Record

Porto won the first-ever and only H2H duel 4-1 in Antwerp. Alhassan Yusuf opened the scoring for the Belgian side, but Porto responded through Evanilson’s hat-trick and a score from Stephen Eustaquio to secure a big victory.

Porto vs Antwerp Odds

Porto are firm favorites to get three points here at -250. A draw is at +440, while you can go with Antwerp to win at +880 if you like to back surprises. For the goals, Over 2.5 is at -132, and Under 2.5 is at +128. When it comes to both teams to score, you can pick between BTTS YES at +107 and BTTS NO at -115. Here you can find the latest Champions League odds.

Porto vs Antwerp Pick

Although they proved they can score, Antwerp have the worst defense in the Champions League this season. The Reds conceded 12 goals, four more than the second-worst defenses in UCL (Crvena Zvezda and Young Boys). Porto are well aware of that fact; after all, the Dragons scored four against Antwerp only two weeks ago.

I am pretty sure Van Bommel didn’t solve those defensive problems in the meantime, so Porto will have plenty of opportunities to score on Tuesday. Their fans need redemption from their players following a disappointing home loss to Estoril, and I believe they will get it. Porto are way better team, and I am backing them to beat Antwerp by two goals or more.