Arsenal vs Porto prediction, odds and betting tips

Arsenal will be looking to overturn a 1-0 first-leg deficit when Porto visit north London in the Champions League.

Find the latest match odds for Arsenal vs Porto. All odds are provided by our best-reviewed football betting sites. Odds are subject to change.

• Arsenal to win and both teams to score - 21/10 with Betfred
• Arsenal to score in both halves - 5/6 with Betfred
• Bukayo Saka to score any time - 23/20 with Betfred

Arsenal have grown accustomed to blowing their Premier League opponents away in 2024, but that was not the case on Saturday.

Prior to their home game against Brentford, Mikel Arteta’s men boasted a 31-3 aggregate scoreline in the top flight since the turn of the year. 

It was the type of run that had not only got them back in the title race but had also made Liverpool and Manchester City, their two fellow contenders, sit up and take notice.

At the weekend, though, Arsenal had to dig deeper on their way to an eighth successive triumph in the league, which took them top of the table.

Declan Rice gave the Gunners the lead with 19 minutes on the clock, but a costly Aaron Ramsdale error allowed Yoane Wissa to level the score on the stroke of half-time.

Arsenal created chances thereafter, but so did Brentford. In the end it looked like both teams would leave with a share of the spoils, only for Kai Havertz to find the back of the net with a header late on.

It was a crucial win. If Arsenal want to win the title this season, they simply must beat sides in the bottom half of the table. In the end, they found a way to do that.

It would be unrealistic to expect Arsenal to thrash every opponent between now and the end of the campaign. So even though this was not a blowout like recent defeats of Crystal Palace (5-0), West Ham United and Sheffield United (both 6-0), the character and resilience Arsenal showed will have pleased their manager. 

The Gunners must show similar qualities on Tuesday. Porto hold a 1-0 advantage on aggregate heading into the second leg, so the onus is on Arsenal as they seek a place in the Champions League quarter-finals for the first time since 2010 (when they beat Porto in the last 16).

Arsenal should find a way past Porto in the second leg, but they are unlikely to have everything their own way at the Emirates Stadium.

Arsenal have been magnificent in the Premier League since the start of the calendar year, but they delivered a disappointing display in their first meeting with Porto last month.

A team that averaged 5.25 league goals per game in its two outings before and two outings prior to the trip to Portugal did not manage a single shot on target at the Estadio do Dragao.

That would not have been so disappointing had Galeno not popped up with a stunning goal in the fourth minute of second-half stoppage time to give Porto a 1-0 win in the first leg.

The removal of the away goals rule in European competition means that result was not as damaging for Arsenal had it been under the old regulations. The bookies still have them as favourites to advance.

We also expect Arsenal to do so but Porto, who have scored in 14 of their last 15 games, could have their moments at the Emirates.

However, the Gunners should ultimately prove too strong for a team that has failed to win any of its 22 trips to England in continental competition, with just three draws and 19 defeats.

Aside from the 1-0 defeat by Porto in the Champions League, Arsenal’s attack has been on fire since the squad returned to London following the Premier League’s mini-winter break in January.

For instance, Arteta’s team have scored in 15 of their last 16 halves of league football. 

They have found the net either side of half-time on seven occasions in 2024. That is more than many teams in their division have managed throughout the entire campaign.

With the home crowd roaring them on, Arsenal will pin Porto back from the first whistle on Tuesday. Do not be surprised if the visitors are unable to hold out until half-time.

The game may then open up in the second period, when the likes of Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Martinelli (if fit) will be increasingly threatening with more space to play with.

Saka did not get on the scoresheet against Brentford but a goal never seems to be far away for Arsenal’s outstanding academy product.

The England international was perhaps not at his best in the first half of the season, but he has once again shown what a talent he is in recent weeks.

Saka has scored seven goals in his last eight games for Arsenal, whose attacks tend to involve him at some point.

Saka is still only 22 years of age but he has already racked up 215 appearances for Arsenal. However, this season has brought his first experience of Champions League football.

The forward will be desperate to make his mark in the knockout stage of this competition - back him to do that by scoring on Tuesday.

• Location: Emirates Stadium, London, England.
• Date and time: Tuesday 12 March 2024, 8pm.
• How to watch: TNT Sports 1.

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