Porto coach Co Adriaanse is adamant that his team will not compromise their attacking principles for the visit of Artmedia Bratislava.
Adriaanse was criticised for his team’s bold approach in their 3-2 defeat at Rangers. But Adriaanse sees no reason to change their approach.
“We are not going to change our style or system for European matches,” he said.
“We will play like Porto play. We’ve been doing that since 4 July [when Adriaanse was appointed] and will maintain our style of play. We are in perfect shape and fortunately don’t have any fresh injuries.”
“Even if we lose, we can still reach the next stage,” he said. “However, it will be very nice if we can win the first match at home.
Adriaanse will be without the injured Pedro Emanuel, Jorge Costa and Helton, but the return of Pepe is a boost. Benni McCarthy keeps his place at the expense of Hélder Postiga.
Artmedia are looking for the first points of their inaugural Champions League campaign
Coach Vladimir Weiss admits he will be happy with a draw in Porto.
“Porto are favourites to win but we believe we can surprise them,” said Weiss.
“Even though I still don’t know what team I will field, we intend to play good football whichever players are selected. We’ve come up against extremely tough opponents in the Champions League so far and while we haven’t scored a single away goal, anything is possible. However, a draw would be a good result.”
Balázs Borbély returns to the squad after serving his suspension.
