Porto vs. Once Caldas on Sunday
Porto just squeaked by the CL group stages. They've had a slow start to their domestic league season, but they've come on late and are back in the top tier -- tied with Trap's Benfica for the league lead.
As for Once Caldas - they qualified for this match after surprising Boca Juniors by winning the Libertadores Cup ... and on penalties (Boca missed all 4!). They just started things up again in the Columbian domestic leagues... and OC is in the top of the pack (third).
Does it matter much? That's to be debated. We'll likely see an average Porto squad, following their CL defeat of Chelsea this week. Porto has the edge on talent even after the depletion of their CL-winning squad to Chelsea and Barca, and their form has improved. Normally, due to domestic and European competitions, I give the edge in this competition to the South American side.
But for those reasons, I'm picking Porto 2-1.
Porto just squeaked by the CL group stages. They've had a slow start to their domestic league season, but they've come on late and are back in the top tier -- tied with Trap's Benfica for the league lead.
As for Once Caldas - they qualified for this match after surprising Boca Juniors by winning the Libertadores Cup ... and on penalties (Boca missed all 4!). They just started things up again in the Columbian domestic leagues... and OC is in the top of the pack (third).
Does it matter much? That's to be debated. We'll likely see an average Porto squad, following their CL defeat of Chelsea this week. Porto has the edge on talent even after the depletion of their CL-winning squad to Chelsea and Barca, and their form has improved. Normally, due to domestic and European competitions, I give the edge in this competition to the South American side.
But for those reasons, I'm picking Porto 2-1.
