On May 22nd (ET), Porto and Arsenal will meet in the round of 16 of the UEFA Champions League (UCL). The last time these two teams met in the round of 16, Arsenal won 6-2 on aggregate. With so much interest in the reunion of these two teams after 14 years, which team will emerge victorious this time around?
The 2023-2024 UCL Round of 16 first leg Porto-Arsenal match will be shown exclusively live on TV channel SPOTV ON and sports OTT channel SPOTV NOW at 5:00 a.m. on April 22nd.
The home team, Porto, have been on a bad run of form recently. They have one win, one draw, and one loss against three teams in the bottom three. Poor goal-scoring has been a problem for Porto, who are without their main man Mehdi Taremi due to injury. However, they will be counting on Ibani Usong, who has been in fine form of late. Wendell and João Mario have been solid in defense on both flanks. Pepe ’83 stands out in particular. At the age of 40, Pepe is the oldest scorer in the UCL, and he plays beyond his years, still anchoring the team’s defense. Will he be able to show off his age against a young Arsenal side with an average age of 24.9?
The Gunners, who have the league’s fewest goals conceded thanks to their tight defense, have also exploded on the scoresheet recently. With 21 goals in their last five games and a five-game winning streak in the league, the Gunners will look to continue their momentum against Porto. Xhaka, who has struggled this season, has returned to form with six goals and one assist in his last five games. Troosar has followed in the footsteps of Xhaka with four goals in five games and will be looking to lead the way against Porto. Arsenal’s last UCL quarterfinal appearance came in the 2009-2010 season. Coincidentally, their last-16 opponent was also Porto. It will be interesting to see if the Gunners can repeat their victory from 14 years ago.
At the same time in Italy, SSC Napoli and FC Barcelona will face off. In their last four games, Barcelona has the advantage with two wins and two draws. All eyes will be on the two teams battling for a UCL quarterfinal spot. The matchup between world-class strikers Ausimhen and Lewandowski will also be interesting.
The UCL Round of 16 first leg between Napoli and Barcelona will be shown live on SPOTV ON2. You can also catch it on SPOTV NOW.