It’s an Iberian Peninsula derby as two of the respective powerhouses of the nations of Portugal and Spain, in Porto and FC Barcelona meet in the UEFA Champions League on Wednesday. Although to be honest, Barcelona is the Catalan Club, and Catalonia is, we’ll just say, “unique and different” from the rest of Spain.
We’re going to leave the politics out of this football match preview. After all, this is one of the better fixtures on the docket, so there is plenty to talk about already.
FC Barcelona at Porto FYIs
Kickoff: Wed. Oct. 4, 8pm, Estadio do Dragao, Porto, Portugal
Competition: UEFA Champions League Group H
FC Barcelona Preview Material: Team News Starting XI Prediction
Transatlantic Passage: How the Premier League Redefined Soccer in America: LINK
Google Result Probability: Barcelona 51% Draw 25% Porto 24%
Lamine Yamel, the teenage sensation who might just be The Next Big Thing in World Football could be handed his first European start here. In the last UEFA Champions League clash, a win over Royal Antwerp, he featured for a few minutes, and in the process became the second youngest all-time debutante in the competition.
Barcelona Starting XI Prediction at Porto (Champions League)
Erik Ter Stegen; Joao Cancelo, Jules Kounde, Andreas Christensen, Alejandro Balde; Ilkay Gundogan, Oriol Romeu, Gavi; Lamine Yamal, Joao Felix, Robert Lewandowski
Paul M. Banks is the owner/manager of The Sports Bank. He’s also the author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” and “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”
He’s written for numerous publications, including the New York Daily News, Sports Illustrated and the Chicago Tribune. He regularly appears on NTD News and WGN News Now. Follow the website on Twitter and Instagram.