Porto defend unbeaten record as Beşiktaş come to town

• #EQUALGAME
This week,  football fans watching UEFA Champions League matches in stadiums, online and on TV will witness the premiere of the new UEFA RESPECT TV ads, called #EqualGame. The adverts feature Ada Hegerberg, Lionel Messi, Paul Pogba, Cristiano Ronaldo and amateur players and will run throughout the season to promote inclusion, diversity and accessibility in European Football with the motto "Everyone has the right to enjoy football, no matter who you are, where you're from, or how you play."
More information on the campaign and on the advertisements can be found in the accompanying media release and on the campaign website: www.equalgame.com.

FC Porto have held the upper hand in their previous contests against Beşiktaş JK and will hope that pattern continues when the teams kick off their 2017/18 UEFA Champions League campaigns.

• The Portuguese side have won three of their four matches against Beşiktaş, who themselves have won only two of their 11 games against opponents from Portugal.

Previous meetings
• These clubs first met in the 2007/08 group stage, with Porto winning both fixtures. The Dragons prevailed 1-0 in Istanbul and 2-0 in Porto, and Ricardo Quaresma – now of Beşiktaş – scored in each game.

• Porto also won at Beşiktaş in the 2010/11 UEFA Europa League group stage, their 3-1 victory in Istanbul earned by Radamel Falcao and two-goal Hulk; Bobô scored an added-time consolation for the hosts.

• The Turkish team avoided defeat against Porto for the first time in their most recent encounter, a 1-1 draw in that same group stage. Falcao was again on target for Porto, via a 36th-minute penalty, but Nihat Kahveci struck on 62 minutes to give Beşiktaş a point. Both sides had a man sent off, with Porto's Cristian Rodríguez (59 minutes) and İbrahim Toraman (67) of Beşiktaş dismissed for two yellow cards.

• The line-ups at the Estádio do Dragão on 4 November 2010 were:
Porto: Helton, Pereira, Otamendi, Rolando, Rúben Micael, Guarín, Belluschi (Souza 73), Fucile, Cristian Rodríguez, Hulk (Moutinho 63), Falcao (Walter 79).
Beşiktaş: Hakan Arıkan, Ernst, Hilbert, Tabata (Hološko 46), İbrahim Üzülmez, İbrahim Toraman, Ersan Gülüm, Mehmet Aurélio, Guti, Bobô (Necip Uysal 84), Nihat (Erhan Güven 90+2).

Match background

Porto
• This is Porto's seventh successive group stage campaign and their record-equalling 22nd in total. In 2016/17, they reached the round of 16, bowing out against eventual runners-up Juventus (0-2 home, 0-1 away).

• Last season was the third time in the last six campaigns that Porto have progressed from their group.

• Porto have won only two of their last seven home matches in European competition. In last autumn's group stage, they picked up seven points at home.

• The Portuguese club have won their other two home games against Turkish opponents, beating Denizlispor 6-1 in a 2002/03 UEFA Cup fourth round first leg (8-3 on aggregate) and Fenerbahçe SK 3-1 in the 2008/09 UEFA Champions League group stage.

• Porto's overall record against Turkish teams reads W6 D2 L0.

Beşiktaş
• Beşiktaş are facing Portuguese opposition for the third straight season – and have failed to record a victory in those four fixtures. In 2016/17, they were in the same UEFA Champions League group as SL Benfica, with whom they drew 1-1 away on matchday one and 3-3 at home – coming from 0-3 down in the latter match.

• That draw at Benfica on 13 September 2016 – 12 months to the day before this game – was the first time that Beşiktaş had avoided defeat on matchday one; they had lost their five previous opening fixtures.

• In 2015/16, Sporting Clube de Portugal were Beşiktaş's rivals in the UEFA Europa League group stage, the Istanbul club being held 1-1 at home before a 3-1 defeat in Lisbon that ended their interest in the competition and took Sporting through.

• Beşiktaş's record away to Portuguese sides is W2 D2 L2; overall it reads W2 D4 L5.

• In 2016/17, the Turkish team finished third in their group and moved into the UEFA Europa League, where they got as far as the quarter-finals before losing on penalties to Olympique Lyonnais.

• The Istanbul club collected four points on their travels in last year's group stage, the highlight being a 3-2 triumph at Napoli.

• They have won twice in Portugal: 2-0 at SC Braga in the 2011/12 UEFA Europa League round of 32 and 3-1 against Vitória SC in the 2005/06 UEFA Cup group stage. Their record in nine games against Portuguese sides is W2 D2 L5 (W2 D1 L2 away).

Coach and player links
• Vincent Aboubakar spent 2016/17 on loan at Beşiktaş, scoring 12 goals in 27 league outings and adding six more in Europe.

• Pepe was a Porto player from 2004 to 2007, winning two Liga championships; he registered six goals in 64 Liga games. He was also at CS Marítimo from 2001 to 2004.

• Quaresma was at Porto from 2004 to 2008, and again between 2013 and 2015, scoring 34 league goals in 155 appearances. He landed league titles in 2006, 2007 and 2008. Quaresma's Porto team-mates included Diego Reyes, Héctor Herrera and Ricardo Pereira (all 2013–15), Hernâni, Iván Marcao, Óliver Torres and Aboubakar (all 2014/15).

• Quaresma was also at Sporting CP from 2001 to 2003, playing in their 2001/02 championship-winning team.

• Porto coach Sérgio Conceição was in the Portugal side that beat Turkey 2-0 in the UEFA EURO 2000 quarter-finals. His 55th and penultimate cap came in a 4-0 friendly win against Bolivia on 10 June 2003 – a match in which half-time substitute Quaresma made his international debut.

• Conceição helped SS Lazio to a 2-0 away win and 1-1 home draw against Beşiktaş in the 2003/04 UEFA Champions League group stage.

• Have played together:
Iker Casillas & Pepe (Real Madrid CF, 2007–15)
Maxi Pereira & Talisca (Benfica, 2014–16)
Alex Telles & Gary Medel (FC Internazionale Milano, 2015/16)

• International team-mates:
Iker Casillas & Álvaro Negredo (Spain)
Ricardo Pereira, André André, Danilo Pereira & Pepe and Ricardo Quaresma (Portugal)

• Alex Telles was in the Galatasaray AŞ team that won the Turkish league and cup in 2014/15, having also lifted the cup the previous year. He made 39 league outings for the club from 2013 to 2015, scoring twice.

• Talisca claimed two consecutive doubles with Benfica in 2014/15 and 2015/16; he managed 12 goals in 53 league matches.

Match facts

Porto
• Aboubakar and Maxi Pereira serve one-game suspensions.

• Seeking their first league title since 2013, Porto have won their opening five games of the season without conceding a goal.

• Aboubakar has five league goals to his name this term – three of them coming against Moreirense FC (3-0) – and also converted a penalty as Cameroon drew 1-1 with Nigeria in FIFA World Cup qualifying on 4 September.

• Francisco Soares has not played since straining his right thigh muscle against Estoril Praia on 9 August.

• Héctor Herrera returned early from international duty with Mexico after suffering a left leg contusion against Panama on 1 September and was not in Saturday's matchday squad.

Beşiktaş
• The Black Eagles lost in the Turkish Super Cup for the second time in as many years when they were beaten 2-1 by Konyaspor.

• Aiming for a third consecutive Süper Lig title, Beşiktaş have won three of their first four matches, drawing the other.

• Oğuzhan Özyakup missed a second-half penalty and Duško Tošić was sent off on Saturday before Ryan Babel struck the only goal at Kardemir Karabükspor.

• Pepe marked his league debut for Beşiktaş with the opening goal in a 2-0 home victory over Antalyaspor on 13 August.

• Cenk Tosun scored Turkey's winner against Croatia on 5 September.