Lazio vs Porto: UEFA Europa League background, form guide, previous meetings

There is all to play for at Rome's Stadio Olimpico as Lazio and Porto target a place in the UEFA Europa League round of 16, with the Italian side needing to overturn a 2-1 deficit from the first leg in Portugal.

• Both clubs endured disappointment in front of their own fans on Matchday 6 of their respective autumn campaigns, Lazio only drawing 0-0 in Rome against Galatasaray to remain in second place behind their unbeaten Turkish opponents in UEFA Europa League Group E, while Porto failed to make it five successive qualifications from the UEFA Champions League group stage as they lost their final Group B fixture 1-3 at home to Atlético de Madrid, who therefore went through at their expense.

Previous meetings
• Lazio took the lead in the first leg through Mattia Zaccagni – his first European goal – but Porto came back to win 2-1 thanks to a double just before and after the interval from Spanish striker Toni Martínez – also his first goals in UEFA club competition.

• This is only the second time the clubs have been drawn together in UEFA competition. The first was in the semi-final of the 2002/03 UEFA Cup, when José Mourinho's Porto overcame Roberto Mancini's Lazio, coming from behind to win the first leg 4-1 in Portugal before holding their opponents to a goalless draw in Rome. Porto went on to lift the trophy, defeating Celtic in the Seville final.

• Lazio are unbeaten at home by Portuguese teams, winning all of the other five contests against visitors from the country, most recently 2-0 against Sporting CP in the 2011/12 UEFA Europa League group stage.

• Porto have faced Italian opponents on 37 previous occasions with the record W12 D10 L15. Away from home the figures read W4 D4 L9, with a 1-1 draw at AC Milan in this season's UEFA Champions League the most recent contest. At the Stadio Olimpico their record is W1 D1 L1, having both won and lost against Roma as well as being the only Portuguese side to avoid defeat there against Lazio.

• Lazio's record in two-legged knockout ties against Portuguese opposition is W3 L2, while Porto's against Italian teams is W7 L4. Porto have also lost their two European finals against Serie A sides – 2-1 to Juventus in the 1984 European Cup Winners' Cup and 1-0 to Milan in the 2003 UEFA Super Cup.

Form guide
Lazio
• Sixth in Serie A last term, Lazio therefore returned, under new boss Maurizio Sarri, for a record-equalling ninth appearance in the UEFA Europa League group stage this season. They spent 2020/21 under Simone Inzaghi in the UEFA Champions League, where they were eliminated by holders Bayern München in the round of 16 (1-4 h, 1-2 a).

• Lazio lost their opening UEFA Europa League Group E fixture 1-0 at Galatasaray but remained unbeaten thereafter, taking six points off Lokomotiv Moskva (2-0 h, 3-0 a) and two off Marseille (0-0 h, 2-2 a) before that closing goalless draw at home to the Turkish team, who therefore maintained their position three points ahead of Sarri's side.

• Runners-up to fellow Italian side Inter in the 1997/98 UEFA Cup, the Biancocelesti are competing in the UEFA Europa League knockout phase for the seventh time. Eliminated in three of the previous six campaigns in the round of 32, including last time around by Sevilla in 2018/19 (0-1 h, 0-2 a), their best performances in the competition came in 2012/13 and 2017/18 when they reached the quarter-finals.

• Lazio's home record in the UEFA Europa League knockout phase is W5 D2 L4. The Serie A side have yet to concede at the Olimpico in their three European games this season (W1 D2).

• Lazio have won four and lost five of the nine UEFA competition ties in which they incurred defeat away from home in the first leg, most recently coming back to beat FCSB of Romania in the 2017/18 UEFA Europa League round of 32 (0-1 a, 5-1 h). Their record after a 2-1 scoreline is W1 L1, the defeat against Lyon in the second round of the 1995/96 UEFA Cup (0-2 h), the victory against FC Copenhagen in the qualifying round of the 2001/02 UEFA Champions League (4-1 h).

Porto
• Porto finished second in the 2020/21 Portuguese Liga, five points behind champions Sporting CP, and also reached the quarter-finals of the UEFA Champions League, where, having dramatically eliminated Juventus on away goals in the round of 16 (2-1 h, 2-3 aet a), they were knocked out by eventual winners Chelsea with both matches played in Seville (0-2 h, 1-0 a).

• Porto recorded just five points in this season's UEFA Champions League group stage – eight fewer than last season – but were still in a strong position to finish second behind runaway leaders Liverpool in Group B going into their final fixture. However, that 1-3 loss to Atlético at the Estádio do Dragão left them in third place, two points behind the Spanish side but one ahead of fourth-placed Milan, against whom they registered their only win of the section, 1-0 at home on Matchday 3.

• This is the sixth time that Porto have participated in the UEFA Europa League knockout phase. Competition winners in their debut campaign, under André Villas-Boas in 2010/11, they have lost three of their round of 32 ties since then, making the latter stages only in 2013/14, when they were ousted in the quarter-finals by eventual winners Sevilla (1-0 h, 1-4 a).

• Porto won their first three away fixtures in the UEFA Europa League knockout phase – all in their triumphant 2010/11 campaign – but have failed to record a victory in seven games since then, losing their last three. Furthermore, they are without a win in any springtime UEFA fixture at their opponents' stadium since a 5-2 victory at Spartak Moskva in the 2010/11 quarter-final second leg – a run of 15 matches (D4 L11).

• Porto have won 35 of the 43 UEFA competition ties in which they recorded a home first-leg victory. When winning the home first leg 2-1 their aggregate record is W3 L2, last season's away goals success against Juventus standing comparison with their famous 2003/04 UEFA Champions League round of 16 elimination of Manchester United (1-1 a) in the season that they claimed the trophy under José Mourinho.

UEFA Europa League squad changes
Lazio
In: André Anderson, Jovane Cabral (Sporting CP, loan), Dimitrije Kamenović
Out: Tommaso di Fusco (Cosenza, loan), Gonzalo Escalante (Alavés, loan), Vedat Muriqi (Mallorca, loan), Michele Riosa (Ascoli)

Porto
In: Galeno (Braga), Rúben Semedo (Olympiacos, loan), Stephen Eustáquio (Paços de Ferreira, loan)
Out: Jesús Corona (Sevilla), Luis Díaz (Liverpool), Nanu (Dallas, loan), Sérgio Oliveira (Roma, loan)

Links and trivia
• Porto coach Sérgio Conceição played for Lazio between 1998 and 2000 and again in 2003/04, winning the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup, UEFA Super Cup, Serie A and Coppa Italia during his first spell at the Rome club.

• Lazio's Felipe Anderson played ten games in all competitions for Porto while on loan at the club in 2020/21.

• Porto defender Iván Marcano spent 2018/19 in Italy with Lazio's city rivals Roma, making ten Serie A appearances but none against Lazio.

• Sergej Milinković-Savić (Lazio) and Marko Grujić (Porto) are Serbian internationals.

• Grujić and Lazio's Lucas Leiva were at Liverpool together between 2016 and 2018.

• Cape Verde international Jovane Cabral joined Lazio on loan in January from Sporting CP, with whom he won the Portuguese Liga last season. He scored two late goals as a substitute for Sporting in a 2-1 Taça da Liga semi-final win against Porto in January 2021.

• Porto's January signing Galeno was the UEFA Europa League group stage's joint top scorer in the autumn with six goals for Braga.

• This is Lazio's 78th match in the UEFA Europa League, group stage to final – only Villarreal (88) have played more.

Penalty shoot-outs
• Lazio have yet to feature in a UEFA penalty shoot-out.

• Porto's record in three UEFA penalty shoot-outs is W1 L2:
3-5 v Sampdoria, 1994/95 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup quarter-final
8-7 v Once Caldas, 2004 European/South American Cup
1-4 v Schalke, 2007/08 UEFA Champions League round of 16