18th May 2011 | Football
Europa Cup Final Tip: Porto to win by two goals
Utterly dominant this season, they should win with a degree of comfort.
Unbeaten in the league all season, a win in the Europa League will seal a treble for Porto and reach the heights not seen since a certain Jose Mourinho was in charge. It has been a marvellous season for coach Andre Villas-Boas and I don’t see his team slipping up.
In the final they meet Braga a team they have already beaten twice in the Portuguese league this season. Often when teams from the same league meet in Europe it can turn out to be a cagey affair. This will be different. Such has been the domestic dominance of Porto, the ‘invincibles’ have the psychological edge over Braga. I cannot see anything other than a Porto win, but the 4/9 on offer is no value.
If we assume a victory in 90 minutes, predicting the score yields better odds. Rather than the exact score, I recommend backing Porto to win by two goals. That was the margin of victory last time the sides met in February and not a lot has changed since then.
Given this is a one-off game Villas-Boas will not want his team clinging on to a single goal lead. He will urge his team to get that comfortable margin. With strikers Falcao and Hulk having scored 63 times between, they have the firepower to achieve this.
Odds correct at time of publishing: 10:10 18th May, 2011 but subject to change
