Porto out to maintain Russian record at Zenit

FC Porto visit Group G rivals FC Zenit St Petersburg on matchday two looking to maintain their formidable record on Russian soil.

• The Portuguese title holders have a 100% record in Russia and prevailed there twice last season, scoring six goals in the process. In addition, they began with a 2-1 home win against FC Shakhtar Donetsk, while Zenit surprisingly went down by the same scoreline at APOEL FC.

• Zenit have never faced Porto before but need only turn to defender Bruno Alves for information about their visitors – the defender spent ten years as a Porto player before moving to Russia in August 2010.

Match background
• Last season Zenit earned seven successive victories in St Petersburg between the UEFA Champions League third qualifying round and the UEFA Europa League round of 16. Porto, meanwhile, achieved a seven-match winning streak on the road during their triumphant UEFA Europa League campaign, ending with a 3-2 semi-final second-leg defeat at Villarreal CF.

• Zenit did not win at home in their debut UEFA Champions League group stage campaign in 2008/09, losing to Real Madrid CF (1-2) and drawing against FC BATE Borisov (1-1) and Juventus (0-0).

• Zenit won both home outings in their only other previous campaign among the continent's elite, beating Vålerenga Fotball and FC Lahti in the 1985/86 European Champion Clubs' Cup.

• In the 2009/10 UEFA Europa League play-offs the Russian side lost 5-4 on aggregate to a CD Nacional team including Porto goalkeeper Rafael Bracali. After a 4-3 first-leg loss, Zenit looked on course to advance when leading 1-0 through Fatih Tekke's first-half strike back in St Petersburg, but an 89th-minute Nacional equaliser from Rúben Micael, who spent last season at Porto, meant aggregate defeat for Zenit.

• Zenit had previously overcome Vitória SC 2-1 at home in the 2005/06 UEFA Cup group stage.

• Porto have won on their four previous visits to Russia, including twice last term. In the UEFA Europa League round of 16 they prevailed 1-0 at PFC CSKA Moskva through a Fredy Guarín goal and the same player was on target again in a 5-2 victory at FC Spartak Moskva in the next round. Hulk, Cristian Rodríguez, Falcao and Rúben Micael also scored as Porto concluded a spectacular 10-3 aggregate triumph.

• In the UEFA Champions League Porto twice won at CSKA in the group stage, 1-0 in 2004/05 and 2-0 two years later.

Team ties
• Zenit coach Luciano Spalletti has encountered Portuguese opposition before in the UEFA Champions League group stage, guiding AS Roma to a 2-1 home victory and 2-2 away draw against a Sporting Clube de Portugal side including João Moutinho in 2007/08.

• Bruno Alves made 119 league appearances for Porto, winning four league titles, three Portuguese Cups and two Super Cups before joining Zenit.

• Danny earned one win, one draw and one defeat against Porto while at CS Marítimo between 2001 and 2004.

• Bruno Alves and Danny are Portuguese international colleagues of Moutinho, Rolando and Silvestre Varela.

• Steven Defour suffered a 3-0 defeat at Zenit with R. Standard de Liège in the first leg of a 2007/08 UEFA Cup first round tie that the Russian side won 4-1 on aggregate. He lined up against his Belgian international colleague Nicolas Lombaerts as well as Aleksandr Anyukov and Konstantin Zyryanov.

• Defour faced Zyryanov, Roman Shirokov and Aleksandr Kerzhakov when helping Belgium beat Russia 2-0 in a Voronezh friendly in November last year.

• Sergei Semak and Cristian Rodríguez were team-mates at Paris Saint-Germain FC in 2005/06.

• Rolando got the better of Szabolcs Huszti when Portugal won 1-0 against Hungary in a September 2009 qualifier for the 2010 FIFA World Cup.

• In August 2009 Nicolás Otamendi featured for Argentina in a 3-2 friendly win against a Russia team including Anyukov, Denisov, Semak, Zyryanov and Kerzhakov.

• Moutinho, Rolando, and Silvestre Varela were in the Portugal team beaten on penalties in a play-off for the 2008 Olympic Games by Alessandro Rosina's Italy at the 2007 UEFA European Under-21 Championship.