Porto vs Liverpool: 5 players who could decide the outcome

Wednesday night sees one of the more interesting clashes in the Champions League round of 16 when Liverpool take on Portuguese side FC Porto. The two sides have only met in European competition once before – in the 2000/01 UEFA Cup quarter-finals. That tie saw Liverpool run out 2-0 winners on aggregate, but will it be different this time?

Porto fans will be hoping so. They came through the group stage in 2nd place – helping to eliminate last season’s semi-finalists Monaco in the process – but will be gunning to take out Jurgen Klopp’s side, who won their group and came through unbeaten. With the tie almost promising goals, here are five players who could decide the outcome...

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#1 Mohamed Salah

Liverpool paid a club record fee of £36.9m for Egyptian forward Mohamed Salah, and thus far this season he’s proven to be worth every penny. Salah simply hasn’t stopped scoring, and he’s already got a total of 29 goals in all competitions, with 5 of them coming in the Champions League group stage. Better still for Salah, the statistics seem to suggest that he’ll have a decent chance of finding the net against Porto.

Liverpool were one of the highest scoring sides in the group stages of the Champions League – their total of 23 goals was only beaten by free-scoring Paris St. Germain – despite the fact that they only won three of their games. Porto meanwhile conceded 10 goals – the second-worst out of all of the sides who made it to the round of 16.

With a seemingly telepathic connection with his forward partner Roberto Firmino, as well as a knack for finding himself in the right position at the right time – witness his ability to capitalise on Eric Dier’s mistake in Liverpool’s recent game with Tottenham – Salah will be looking to add to his goal total in this tie. And if he does, he could be the key to a Liverpool victory.

#2 Vincent Aboubakar

Vincent Aboubakar leads Porto's attack

Returning to Porto following a single season on loan at Turkish side Besiktas, Cameroon international striker Vincent Aboubakar has arguably been Porto’s standout player this season thus far in the Champions League. Of Porto’s 15 goals in the group stages of the competition, Aboubakar was responsible for scoring 5, and he also assisted in 2.

His most outstanding performance was probably in Porto’s final group game – a 5-2 victory over last season’s semi-finalists Monaco, in which he scored two and set up Porto’s third goal by Yacine Brahimi. And it’s not just in the Champions League where Aboubakar has been scoring – he’s also hit 15 league goals this season to fire Porto to the top of the Primeira Liga.

With Liverpool’s defence not one of the meanest in the round of 16 – they conceded 5 goals against their strongest opposition, Sevilla, across two games with them in the group stage – Aboubakar can definitely hope to find success. His physical style seems tailor-made to do damage against the likes of Joel Matip and Dejan Lovren and if he can get past those defenders, the tie could be Porto’s.

#3 Roberto Firmino

Roberto Firmino has already scored 20 goals this season

While most of the plaudits at Liverpool this season have gone to Mohamed Salah, Brazilian striker Roberto Firmino has flown under the radar somewhat despite scoring 20 goals in all competitions already – the most he’s ever scored for Liverpool despite the season still having three months remaining.

But if anything, Firmino has been just as important to the success of the Reds as Salah, particularly in the Champions League. The Brazilian has netted 6 goals in European competition thus far, the most of any Liverpool player this season, including braces against Maribor and Sevilla. He’s also assisted in 3 Champions League goals.

With the first leg of Liverpool’s tie with Porto being away at the Estadio do Dragao, Firmino’s statistics seem to suggest he could be even more important. No other player in the Champions League this season has been involved in as many goals away from home as Firmino, who’s scored 4 and assisted in 2 on his travels. If he can deliver again, he could decide this tie.

#4 Yacine Brahimi

Yacine Brahimi could be the key to unlocking Liverpool's defence

While he hasn’t scored as many goals this season as fellow Porto attackers Vincent Aboubakar and Moussa Marega, Algerian forward Yacine Brahimi is arguably the most important part of the Portuguese side’s ‘Three-Headed Dragon’ attack. Goal.com has called him the “most naturally gifted” of the trio, and has praised his creativity and dribbling – skills that should bode well for him in this tie with Liverpool.

He played well in the Champions League group stage, where he scored one goal and assisted in another, but in the Primeira Liga he’s assisted in 6 goals – a total only beaten by fellow attacking standout Alex Telles. But Brahimi has 5 league goals to Telles’ none, making him a far more dangerous prospect against Liverpool’s defence.

Given that the first leg of the tie takes place at Porto’s Estadio do Dragao stadium – a stadium that produced more goals than any other outside of Paris St. Germain’s Parc des Princes in the group stages of the Champions League, you can bet that Brahimi will be licking his lips at the prospect of taking on Liverpool’s defence. If they can’t handle his creativity, then he could hold the key to the tie.

#5 Virgil van Dijk

Virgil Van Dijk will need to be at his best to shut out Porto's attack

While Liverpool’s defence wasn’t the leakiest in the Champions League group stage, they did concede 6 goals – the most of any group winner aside from Roma who conceded the same amount. And they did look shaky at times, most notably in the 3-3 draw with Sevilla which saw the Spanish side come back from three goals down.

Clearly recognising his side’s weakness though, Jurgen Klopp moved swiftly in the January transfer window and brought in Virgil van Dijk for £75m – a world-record fee for a defender. But despite the huge fee he’s settled in relatively quickly, scoring a goal on his debut and helping to shore up the Reds’ backline. He’s clearly now their most important centre-back.

With Porto’s frontline consisting of a trio of the Champions League’s most dangerous players - Vincent Aboubakar, Moussa Marega and Yacine Brahimi – it’s important that Van Dijk is at his best throughout the game. Still without a settled defensive partner – Dejan Lovren and Joel Matip still look weak at times – if anyone can stop Porto’s ‘Three-Headed Dragon’ it’s the Dutchman. And if he can stop them, then he could win Liverpool the tie.