Jose Mourinho will be up against his former team Porto, the team with whom Mourinho won his first Champions League title in 2004.
KICK-OFF: 12:15 am IST
Jose Mourinho will be up against his former team Porto, the team with whom Mourinho won his first Champions League title in 2004.
Mourinho, who managed FC Porto from 2002 to 2004, made the Portuguese club one of the best club in Europe at that time. Under Mourinho, Porto won the Portuguese League twice, the UEFA cup in 2003 and the UEFA Champions League in 2004.
Currently managing English Champions Chelsea, Mourinho is facing a tough time with the London Club. Chelsea have had a poor start to the 2015/16 English Premier League, merely winning two out of the seven matches played, occupying the 14th spot on the league table.
However, in the Champions League, Chelsea were off to a flying start as they thrashed Israeli club Maccabi Tel Aviv 4-0.
On the other hand, FC Porto have had a brilliant start to the Portuguese Primeira Liga as they won four out of the six matches they played. But Julen Lopetegui's men couldn't replicate their domestic form in Champions League as they drew their opening match 2-2 against Dynamo Kiev.
The Porto-Chelsea match will be more than interesting as Chelsea striker Falcao will also face his former club, whereas Porto goal-keeper Iker Casillas will be facing his former manager Mourinho (Casillas and Mourinho were together in Real Madrid)
Falcao and Porto:
Radamel Falcao made his Champions League debut for Porto against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge in a 1-0 defeat in 2009. If selected, this will be the first time Falcao will play against Porto after leaving the club in 2011. Talking to the club's official website, Falcao stated: "I am excited I am returning to play in the Champions League and I have been waiting for that. return to Porto, a very good place. I have good memories of that club, and that city, and I have never returned. It is my first time – it is my first time returning to an old club and I still know some players."
Casillas and Mourinho:
Iker Casillas and Jose Mourinho don't seem to share a good relationship with each other. The conflict between Mourinho and Casillas began in 2012, when Mourinho dropped Casillas to the bench for Real Madrid's match against Malaga. With time, Casillas became the second choice goal-keeper for Madrid with the signing of Diego Lopez in 2013. But despite going through a troubled phase, Casillas found his way back in to the Real Madrid starting XI and captained the team to their 10th Champions League title in 2014 with an emphatic 4-1 victory over rivals Atletico Madrid.
However, in July 2015, Iker Casillas signed for FC Porto. When FC Porto manager Julen Lopetegui was questioned on Casillas' relationship with Mourinho, he said: "The game and the competition demand the maximum of us, these issues (surrounding the club's former coach and player) are more important to (the media). Internally, nothing motivates us apart from the game itself. Casillas is delighted to be at FC Porto," said Lopetegui.
Team News:
* Diego Costa, who is currently serving a 3-match ban in the Premier League, is likely to start ahead of Falcao and Loic Remy.
* Thibaut Courtois is still sidelined due to knee injury, making way for Asmir Begovic to be the first choice goal-keeper.
* Porto striker Andre Silva will not be a part of the clash as he picked up an ankle injury last weekend while playing with the reserves.
* Winger Yacine Brahimi is also a doubt for the match after picking up a knee injury.
Key Stats (OPTA Stats):
* Chelsea have won four of their six Champions League meetings with Porto. They have never failed to score against the Portuguese side.
* Porto and Chelsea’s three encounters at the Estádio do Dragão has a balanced record: one win each, one draw and three goals each.
* Porto have conceded more than one goal only twice in their last 34 home Champions League games. Moreover, no English club has ever scored more than one goal in 10 away Champions League games against Porto.
* Porto won four of their five home games in the Champions League last season, drawing the other one. They scored 16 goals and conceded only three.
* Porto have scored in each of their last 11 Champions League games. They’ve also only lost one of these games: the quarter final second leg against Bayern Munich last season (1-6).
* Chelsea have won 80% of their Champions League games against Portuguese sides (8 out of 10), their highest ratio versus any nation faced more than 10 times.
* Chelsea have won their last seven Champions League games against Portuguese clubs. The last time they failed to do so was in February 2007 in an 1-1 draw against Porto at the Dragao.
* Chelsea had five shots on target against Maccabi Tel Aviv on the opening match-day. They scored with four of them.
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