Porto primed for 'must-win' match

Raul Meireles believes FC Porto will face a "strong" Hamburger SV team at the Estádio do Dragão on Tuesday despite the German club's wretched run of form which has seen them slip into the Bundesliga relegation zone and fail to tally a point from two UEFA Champions League outings.

Top of the league
Porto have only one Group G point of their own after following up their opening goalless draw with PFC CSKA Moskva with a 2-0 loss at Arsenal FC, but are in the midst of a free-scoring streak in domestic football which has kept them at the Liga summit. Raul Meireles should make his first European start of the season as the midfield anchor in a 4-3-3 system against Hamburg, and expects his team-mates to be "fully motivated" for what appears to be a must-win fixture.

'Weaknesses'
"The team is confident for the game against Hamburg," said the 23-year-old. "We have been studying Hamburg and we know they are strong as a team, but we still have time to identify their weaknesses. It is an important game. We have scored a lot of goals recently and I think the team has been performing well."

Moraes recovery
Raul Meireles was replaced 75 minutes into Saturday's 3-0 victory against CS Marítimo by Bruno Moraes, as the Brazilian made his first appearance of the campaign after overcoming a right knee injury sustained in a pre-season friendly against AS Roma. The 22-year-old anticipates a more testing night against Hamburg, saying: "It's going to be a very demanding game, but all UEFA Champions League matches are.

'Mental boost'
"Our win against Marítimo has given us a mental boost and now we are ready to give our best again to achieve success in Europe. We cannot make any mistakes against Hamburg - we must win." CSKA (on four points) entertain leaders Arsenal (six) in the section's other game, with both matches reversed in a fortnight.