Porto have swept all before them both domestically and in Europe over the past 10 months and no reason to believe things will be any different in Dublin on Wednesday.
Having dropped just six points all season en route to claiming yet another Portuguese league title, Porto have the opportunity to add to their trophy haul in the Europa League final and they won’t fear their opponents. The champions take on fellow Primeria Liga side Sporting Braga and the gulf in class between the pair is sizeable.
While nobody was going to live with Porto over the course of a 30 game season following their blistering start to the campaign, it must be noted that Braga finished a whopping 38 points adrift in the final standings in fourth and Wednesday’s favourites smashed five goals past the underdogs in two league victories.
In fact, Porto have racked up 130 goals in 52 matches in all competitions, they remain very much on course for the treble, and it’s hard to see Braga living with them in the Irish capital.
Under 33-year-old manager Andre Villas-Boas, the Porto class of 2011 have much more swagger than the team that was so successful under Jose Mourinho at the start of the century and the young boss is already eyeing Champions League success next term.
Mourinho, of course, achieved that just 12 months after guiding his charges to Uefa Cup success and Porto look set for a really bold bid in next season’s elite competition.
Having started their Europa League campaign way back in August with a 7-2 aggregate victory over Genk in the qualifying round, Porto will be keen to see their season end in the best possible fashion and I can see them turning on the style. They managed a remarkable 17 goals in their four quarter- and semi-final matches and if Braga are not careful they could be on the end of a hammering.
In Falcao, Porto possess the competition’s leading scorer, he has 17 to his name already, but the attacking threat is throughout and they are well worth backing to triumph emphatically.
The match odds market looks about right, Porto are well-backed 1.45 shots to win inside 90 minutes, but we’ve seen some cracking Europa League finals in recent years and this could be another featuring plenty of goals. Unfortunately for Braga I see the majority being scored by their opponents and it could be that man Falcao that inflicts the most damage.
2pts Back Falcao to score 2 or more goals (vs. Braga) @ 7.50 (Paddy Power)
1pt Back Falcao to score a hat-trick (vs. Braga) @ 29.0 (Blue Square)