Malaga v Porto: Spoils to be shared as Spaniards bow out
Published:Porto hold a slender 1-0 lead ahead of their trip to La Rosaleda, but the fact that they kept a clean sheet on home soil is likely to make all the difference in this battle to reach the quarter finals.
The Portuguese champions have lost 11 of their 18 jaunts to Spain, but are undefeated in five of their last six trips. Malaga, on the other hand, run a tight ship at home in Europe which makes a low-scoring draw the likeliest of outcomes here. A price of 23/10 says this one ends all square, which could supplement any punt on Porto to qualify at 1/4 quite nicely.
Malaga don’t hold much hope of going through after surrendering a first-leg loss; Porto have advanced on 33 occasions after getting the job done in the opener of a two-legged affair, so those looking to back the visitors to qualify will need to find something to support the bet if they wish to turn a decent profit.
Prior to their 2-2 draw with Anderlecht, Malaga had contested 688 minutes of European football without conceding a goal and have kept the visiting team quiet in eight of their 11 home ties in continental competition. With a draw suiting the Dragons down to the ground, don’t expect them to go hammer and tong in Spain, making 0-0 the best score to incorporate into the staking plan at 7s.
The draw and under 2.5 goals combination looks an excellent value bet ahead of this one. The total goals mark has not crossed this mark in four of Malaga’s previous five home ties, while it hasn’t in either of Porto’s previous two away days and two of their three Champions League road trips to boot.
Another bet with legs is the 4/1 on offer for the game to be level at half time and full time. Trusting that the draw will be the final outcome, it makes sense delving into the half markets as seven of Porto’s last nine have had the same result at the interval as they have at the final whistle, as have four of Malaga’s previous five.
All odds and markets accurate as of publication’s time and date
