Champions League: FC Basel v FC Porto Preview

Will Basel continue their Champions League fantasy?

Liverpool's conquerers FC Basel will be looking to continue their Champions League fantasy when they host FC Porto in the last 16 tonight. The Swiss club weren't fancied to do much in the group stages as they were highly tipped to finish third in a group that included The Reds, Real Madrid and Bulgaria's Ludogorets. However, they managed to secure a point in the final group game at Anfield to steal second place and qualification from Brendan Rodgers' side. They are up against it however as they face a Porto side that went through the group stages unbeaten. The Portuguese side won four and drew two in a group that included Shakhtar Donetsk, Atletico Bilbao and BATE Borisov. Porto are also the second top scorers in this season's competition. Only Chelsea's 17 goals betters their tally of 16. On top of that, the blue and whites boast an impressive record against Swiss opposition having lost just one of their last six meetings, which was a 3-0 defeat to Grasshoppers in October 1980. Despite that impressive record, this is the first time they will come against Basel in any competitive game which means the form book will be thrown out the window. Basel will be hoping so as they have never won a Champions League game against a Portuguese side, drawing one and losing three. Manager Paulo Sousa will be without defender Ivan Ivanov because of a knee injury, while Fabian Schar is unavailable through suspension. Porto will be without the services of of Adrian Lopez for the trip to Switzerland, otherwise boss Julen Lopetegui should have a full squad to pick from.
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Video & written Content Producer for WhatCulture Wrestling. NCTJ trained journalist. BA Hons, Sports Journalism.