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PSG's coach Carlo Ancelotti. Paulo Duarte/AP/Press Association Images
Euro Vision

Champions League Group A preview: Unbeaten Porto welcome Kiev as PSG go east

Dinamo Zagreb welcome Carlo Ancelotti’s Ligue 1 side.

PORTUGUESE GIANTS PORTO are favoured to extend their unbeaten start to the season against Dynamo Kiev in the Champions League this evening.

Vitor Pereira’s side have made a blistering start to their season both on the domestic and European fronts.

They kicked off their campaign with a Portuguese Super Cup triumph over Academica and have launched a sturdy defence of their Liga Sagres title, recording four wins and two draws from their opening six matches to top the league standings.

More impressively, Porto lead Group A in the Champions League with two wins from as many matches, including a 1-0 home victory over big-spending French club PSG last time out.

Pereira’s men welcome an out-of-form Dynamo Kiev who have lost their last two league encounters in the Ukrainian Premier League but remain a chance to progress into the knockout rounds of Europe’s premier club competition.  The capital-city club sit third in Group A after defeating Dynamo Zagreb 2-0 at home on matchday two and will face a stern task to keep free-scoring Porto at bay on the road at Estadio do Dragao.

In the group’s other match, Dynamo Zagreb, in last place following a pair of defeats, entertain PSG at Stadion Maksimir.

The Croatian champions will have a battle on their hands to contain a star-studded PSG outfit that can consolidate a top-two spot and effectively end their hosts’ campaign with victory. Carlo Ancelotti’s Parisians head into the clash with growing confidence after wrenching top place in Ligue 1 from Marseille for the first time this season over the weekend.

Marquee recruit Zlatan Ibrahimovic will be one of many threats Ante Cacic’s side will need to nullify to salvage anything from this game, the Sweden international having netted an imposing nine goals from eight matches this term, including a strike in a 4-1 matchday rout of Dynamo Kiev. Dynamo Zagreb, meanwhile, have yet to score in the Champions League group stage this season following 2-0 defeats to both Porto and Dynamo Kiev.

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