FC Porto vs Arsenal preview: Prediction, team news & lineups

Arsenal's maiden Champions League knockout stage campaign in seven years kicks-off on Wednesday night as they travel to FC Porto on Wednesday night.

The Gunners topped a tame Group B at the end of 2023 as they secured statement home victories over PSV and RC Lens. UCL veterans Porto, meanwhile, qualified behind Barcelona in Group H to set up this round of 16 tie.

Arsenal head into Wednesday's game in imperious form. After they were knocked out of the FA Cup by Liverpool, Mikel Arteta's side have won five successive Premier League games, scoring 21 goals in the process.

As for Porto, they've endured a rather indifferent 2023/24 thus far. The Portuguese side are third in the Primeira Liga and unlikely to challenge the Lisbon clubs for the title. Their recent form has served as a microcosm for what's been a mixed bag of a season.

Here's our preview of Wednesday's Champions League clash.

The hosts haven't been hamstrung by injuries as of late. On Wednesday, they'll likely only be without Ivan Marcano, who could miss the rest of the season with a long-term knee injury.

Mehdi Taremi could come back into the starting lineup after he was an unused substitute at the weekend.

Arteta could welcome back a couple of injured stars on Wednesday night. Oleksandr Zinchenko, Gabriel Jesus, and Fabio Vieira all harbour hopes of being involved.

Vieira has been out of action since December but is in contention to take on his former club.

Thomas Partey could also be included in Wednesday's squad. Jurrien Timber will miss out, but a return to full training is said to be imminent. Emile Smith Rowe earned minutes off the bench at the weekend.

FC Porto: Costa; Mario, Pepe, Cardoso, Wendell; Conceicao, Varela, Gonzalez, Galeno; Taremi, Evanilson.

Arsenal: Raya; White, Saliba, Gabriel, Kiwior; Rice, Odegaard, Havertz; Saka, Trossard, Martinelli.

Arsenal's majestic recent run will have many expecting an away win on Wednesday, but Porto, despite their indifference this season, are plucky opposition. They're experienced and built to frustrate sides of Arsenal's calibre.

Sergio Conceicao is a wily coach who'll set his team up in a compact 4-4-2 block and aim to hit the visitors on the counter-attack. Porto certainly have the requisite threats to hurt the Gunners.

Thus, the inexperience travellers could be caught cold on occasions, but the swagger they're currently playing with means it's hard to envisage the hosts containing them for the duration.