Porto look to follow Leicester's lead
Wednesday, November 30, 2016
Article summary
Porto will attempt to follow newcomers Leicester into the last 16 of the UEFA Champions League when they play host to the Group G winners on matchday six.
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FC Porto will attempt to follow Leicester City FC into the last 16 of the UEFA Champions League when they host the Group G winners on matchday six.
• Porto sit second in the section, two points above FC København, and will guarantee their progress if they win. Should they draw, then third-placed FCK would overtake them by defeating Club Brugge KV in the other final Group G fixture.
Match background
Porto
• After a 0-0 draw in Copenhagen last time out, Porto are looking to finish the job of securing their place in the knockout round for the second time in three seasons.
• Nuno Espírito Santo's side earned their first home win in five matches in UEFA competition when they defeated Club Brugge 1-0 on matchday four.
• Porto's last home meeting with Premier League opposition brought a 2-1 victory against Chelsea FC in last season's group stage, courtesy of goals by André André and Maicon.
• Their overall home record against English clubs is W7 D6 L3.
Leicester
• The English champions wrapped up qualification for the round of 16 with a game to spare with their 2-1 home win against Club Brugge on 22 November.
• Claudio Ranieri's tournament newcomers are one of ten teams still unbeaten entering the final round of group fixtures.
• They beat Porto 1-0 on matchday two and have yet to concede a goal on their travels after beating Club Brugge (3-0) and drawing at København (0-0).
Coach and player links
• Claudio Ranieri's Valencia CF side won the 2004 UEFA Super Cup against a Porto team containing Nuno Espírito Santo as reserve goalkeeper.
• As ACF Fiorentina coach, Ranieri oversaw a 2-1 aggregate win over SL Benfica in the 1996/97 European Cup Winners' Cup quarter-finals (2-0 a, 0-1 h). With Parma FC he suffered 1-0 away and home losses to SC Braga in the 2006/07 UEFA Cup round of 32.
• Nuno was a half-time substitute in RC Deportivo La Coruña's 3-2 win at Manchester United FC in the UEFA Champions League first group stage in October 2001. He later played in Porto's 2-1 home victory over Chelsea in the 2004/05 group stage.
• Leicester's scorer when they beat Porto on matchday two, Islam Slimani put four goals past Porto and Iker Casillas last season – two in Sporting Clube de Portugal's 2-0 home victory on 2 January, and two in a 3-1 away success on 30 April. He had hit the only goal in Sporting's home league win over Porto in March 2014, and scored again in a 2-1 Sporting win in August – his final appearance for the club.
• Leonardo Ulloa scored past Casillas for UD Almería in a 1-1 home Liga draw against Real Madrid CF in January 2011. Christian Fuchs did the same with FC Schalke 04 in a 4-3 victory at Madrid in the 2014/15 UEFA Champions League round of 16.
• Casillas played at Leicester's stadium as a half-time substitute in a 2-1 friendly win for Real Madrid over the Foxes in July 2011. He conceded a late goal to Lloyd Dyer.
• Kasper Schmeichel was in the youth ranks of Estoril Praia during his father Peter's time playing for Sporting (1999–2001).
• Ahmed Musa scored for PFC CSKA Moskva in a 3-1 UEFA Champions League play-off home win over Sporting in 2015/16.
• Adrián López came off the bench to score in Villarreal CF's 1-0 first-leg win over Liverpool FC in last term's UEFA Europa League semi-final. López scored also at Chelsea in a 3-1 UEFA Champions League semi-final success with Atlético in 2013/14.
• López scored past Ron-Robert Zieler in Club Atlético de Madrid's 2-1 victory at the German goalkeeper's Hannover 96 side in the 2011/12 UEFA Europa League quarter-finals.
• Miguel Layún (Watford FC 2015) and João Carlos (Liverpool 2011–16, Brentford FC 2013 and Brighton & Hove Albion FC 2014/15) both had spells in English football.
• International team-mates:
Islam Slimani, Riyad Mahrez & Yacine Brahimi (Algeria)
Match facts
Porto
• Felipe and André Silva are a booking away from a ban.
• Porto are 12 games unbeaten since losing to Leicester on matchday two, conceding only two goals in that time, although they were knocked out of the Portuguese Cup on penalties by GD Chaves on 18 November following a scoreless draw.
• The Dragons had drawn their last five matches, four of them 0-0, prior to Saturday when only Rui Pedro's 95th-minute goal against SC Braga prevented yet another stalemate.
• Porto were on a club record run of 520 minutes without a goal before that last-gasp effort at the weekend.
• João Carlos, a summer signing from Liverpool, was given his Porto debut as a substitute in the draw against Os Belenenses in the Portuguese League Cup group stage on 29 November.
• Rui Pedro, a scorer of six UEFA Youth League goals this season, made his first senior appearance in the same game.
• Layún (left adductor) featured for the first time since 18 November against Braga.
Leicester
• Robert Huth and Slimani are a booking away from a ban.
• Ranieri's men have lost seven of their 14 Premier League fixtures this season, four more defeats than they suffered in their title-winning campaign last term.
• Mahrez had scored a penalty in each of his last three matches prior to Saturday's 2-1 defeat at Sunderland AFC.
• Leicester converted two spot kicks, one of them taken by Slimani, as they drew 2-2 at home to Middlesbrough FC on 26 November.
• Danny Drinkwater is serving a three-game domestic ban.
• Jamie Vardy has been named on the shortlist for the BBC Sports Personality of the Year Award, the winner of which will be announced on 18 December.
Chapecoense commemoration
Teams taking part in all of the matchday six UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League matches will observe a minute's silence to pay respect to the victims of last week's air disaster involving the Chapecoense team and accompanying delegation. The Brazilian club lost most of their players and coaching staff in the accident, which occurred in Colombia, where Chapecoense were due to play the first leg of the Copa Sudamericana final against Atlético Nacional.
"European football is united in expressing its deepest sympathy to Chapecoense, the Brazilian Football Confederation [CBF], CONMEBOL and the families of all the victims," said UEFA President Aleksander Čeferin. "This tragedy has shaken the world of football, and we would like to send our support to all of those affected by it."