Porto go into Thursday's first leg at the Estadio do Dragao in stunning form, having won their last 12 matches, while they are still unbeaten in their domestic league having won 25 of 27 matches. That led Porto to clinching the title earlier this month, and last week they beat Benfica on away goals to progress to the final of the Portuguese cup. It has been a remarkable first season in charge for 33-year-old coach Andre Villas-Boas, and a good result against Villarreal on Thursday will push them a step closer to yet more possible silverware. With all that in mind, Soriano believes Villarreal are underdogs going into the semi-final. But, with the Spanish outfit chasing their first major trophy, the Spain international is not ruling out his side's chances. He said: "I think they're favourites because they're winning titles, but it doesn't matter to us who has that tag. It doesn't affect us at all. "At this stage of the competition all the teams must be respected. We both know it will be a very even tie and I hope that things go our way. "It's going to be difficult to get through to the final because Porto are a very good team, but we hope to get a good result. We have a chance if we do things well." Soriano is also backing his side's attackers to cause Porto problems. Giuseppe Rossi has scored 10 goals in this season's competition - one less than Porto's Falcao, who is the overall leader - while Nilmar has notched five times. Soriano, whose side lost 3-2 to Sevilla at the weekend but remain comfortably placed in fourth spot in La Liga, added on www.superdeporte.es: "We have the torpedoes up front who can shoot down Porto." Porto boss Villas-Boas does not agree that his side are favourites, saying: "There are no favourites when we come to the semi-finals, especially after big teams have been knocked out. "We know this is a tough game and I dismiss any suggestion of being favourites. "I think Villarreal are the most difficult team we've faced on this path. They play attacking football with great quality, with a style that has been compared to Barcelona." The winner of the tie will face Portuguese opposition in the final, with Benfica taking on Braga in the other semi-final.
