Football betting tips: Champions League
2pts Under 2.5 goals at 6/5 (General)
0.5pt No Goalscorer 14/1 (bet365, Sky Bet)
1pt Enzo Fernandez to be shown a card at 4/1 (bet365)
The 2025/26 Portuguese season was supposed to be about Jose Mourinho.
In some ways it was, as after returning to Benfica in September he remained unbeaten in the top flight before leaving for Real Madrid in the summer, but the real story was happening at the club where the Special One made his name.
Francesco Farioli, who only turned 37 in April, led Porto to a dominant title win by losing just twice and conceding only 18 goals.
In the Europa League they looked the most likely threat to Aston Villa until being beaten by Nottingham Forest in a quarter-final where Porto defender Martim Fernandes scored a remarkable 45-yard own goal in the first leg and team-mate Jan Bednarek was sent off eight minutes into the second.
Forest were the only team to beat them in Europe last term (W7 D1 L2). Farioli will now want to show his team can do it in the Champions League.
Porto's 2025/26 success was built on an incredible start that saw them win 16 and draw one of their opening 17 league matches.
This season they have started in the same fashion with six straight victories in all competitions, conceding only once.
Manchester City have not been thrilling just yet under Enzo Maresca, but most importantly have won all three Premier League matches.
They needed two late goals to beat Bournemouth and eked out a 1-0 win over Coventry either side of a 4-1 victory at Crystal Palace.
UNDER 2.5 GOALS looks a runner at 6/5 as defensively resilient Porto are likely to make things as difficult as possible for a City team trying to find its rhythm under a new manager.
It's far longer quotes than the generally odds-on about Porto double chance, and also covers us for a low-scoring away win, so feels like the most sensible route.
NO GOALSCORER is also backed at 14/1.
While it was incredibly rare for City games to end goalless under Pep Guardiola, it was far more common in the Champions League with six of their last 14 goalless draws coming in Europe.
The biggest transfer of the summer saw ENZO FERNANDEZ swap Chelsea for City for £125m on deadline day and he was thrown straight into the starting XI on Saturday, playing 70 minutes of the victory over Coventry.
It was his first start since being sent off for Argentina in the World Cup final for a brainless second yellow in the dying moments of normal time.
One of the many stains on the officiating at that tournament was that it took until its final game for Fernandez to go in the book.
At 4/1 TO BE SHOWN A CARD he is worth backing to get on the board early for his new club, especially as he is likely to face hostility from the first whistle having moved to Stamford Bridge from Porto's biggest rivals Benfica.
Fernandez's record at Chelsea last term speaks for itself: 14 cards in 54 appearances.
Odds correct at 15:40 BST (7/9/26)
More from Sporting Life
- Fixtures, results and live scores
- Home of This Week's Acca
- Football and other sports tips
- Download the Sporting Life app
- Podcasts and video content
Safer gambling
We are committed in our support of safer gambling. Recommended bets are advised to over-18s and we strongly encourage readers to wager only what they can afford to lose.
If you are concerned about your gambling, please call the National Gambling Helpline / GamCare on 0808 8020 133.
Further support and information can be found at begambleaware.org and gamblingtherapy.org.
