Lokomotiv Moskva v Porto background

Lokomotiv Moskva know another Group D defeat would leave their UEFA Champions League hopes in the balance as they welcome Porto, who are looking to build on a solid start to the 2018/19 competition.

• The Portuguese side are joint top of the section on four points, level with Schalke and one ahead of Galatasaray. Loko are fourth, having lost both their first two games without scoring, and will be looking for rapid improvement in their first meeting with Porto.

Form guide
Lokomotiv
• A late goal gave Schalke a 1-0 win in Moscow on matchday two, inflicting a second successive loss on Lokomotiv, who had gone down 3-0 at Galatasaray in their first fixture.

• The Schalke defeat ended Lokomotiv's four-match unbeaten run at home in UEFA Champions League matches, group stage to final –since a 1-0 loss to Real Madrid in March 2003 – and a three-game home winning streak in the competition proper.

• Lokomotiv have won only four of their last 11 European fixtures in Moscow, losing five.

• Russian champions last season for the first time since 2004, Lokomotiv are in the group stage for the fourth time, having not featured since 2003/04 – their third successive appearance – when they reached the round of 16.

• The Moscow club have qualified from their group on their last two appearances.

• In 2017/18, Lokomotiv began in the UEFA Europa League group stage, beating Nice in the round of 32 before suffering an 8-1 aggregate loss against eventual champions Atlético Madrid in the last 16.

• Lokomotiv's last game against Portuguese opponents was a 4-2 loss to Sporting CP in the 2015/16 UEFA Europa League group stage – giving them a record of W1 L2 at home to visitors from Portugal.

Porto
• Held 1-1 at Schalke in their opening fixture, Porto edged to a 1-0 win at home against Galatasaray last time out.

• Porto are in the UEFA Champions League for the 23rd season – the joint highest total ever alongside Real Madrid and Barcelona.

• Porto have reached the round of 16 in the last two years, and have qualified from the group three times in the last four seasons. In 2017/18 they lost 5-0 on aggregate to eventual runners-up Liverpool in the last 16 having been beaten at home by the same scoreline in the first leg.

• Porto have won only one of their last seven European away games (D4 L2), a 3-0 victory at Monaco in last season's group stage. They have drawn the last three.

• Porto last visited Russia for a 1-1 draw at Zenit in the 2013/14 UEFA Champions League group stage. They won on each of their first four trips but the most recent, a 5-2 victory at Spartak Moskva in the 2010/11 UEFA Europa League quarter-finals, is their sole success in their last five matches against Russian clubs, home and away (D2 L2).

Links and trivia
• Yuri Semin was coach of the Dynamo Kyiv side that beat Porto 1-0 away but lost 2-1 at home on matchday three and four of the 2008/09 UEFA Champions League group stage.

• Have played in Portugal:
Manuel Fernandes (Benfica 2003–06)
Éder (Tourizense 2006–08, Académica 2008–12, Braga 2012–15)

• Porto coach Sérgio Conceição was Éder's boss at Braga in 2014/15.

• International team-mates:
Manuel Fernandes, Éder & Danilo, Sérgio Oliveira (Portugal)
Brian Idowu & Chidozie Awaziem (Nigeria)

• Héctor Herrera set up both goals as Mexico beat Fedor Smolov's Russia 2-1 in the 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup group stage match in Kazan.

Latest news

Lokomotiv Moskva
• On 27 July Lokomotiv suffered a 1-0 extra-time defeat by CSKA in the Russian Super Cup.

• Lokomotiv picked up only two points from their first three Premier League matches – the worst start to a campaign by the defending champions in Russian league history.

• Having won only two of their first eight league matches this season, Loko have picked up victories in the last three, beating Rostov 2-1 on Friday. Solomon Kverkvelia scored the winner, his first goal since 21 September 2017.

• Guilherme kept clean sheets in each of his first two competitive international appearances for Russia, helping them draw 0-0 against Sweden and beat Turkey 2-0 in the UEFA Nations League.

• Éder was on target in Portugal's 3-1 friendly win against Scotland on 14 October – his first international goal since the winner in the UEFA EURO 2016 final against France.

• Fedor Smolov suffered a shoulder injury against Baltika on 26 September and has not played since. Aleksandr Kolomeytsev has not played this season due to a hip problem while Jefferson Farfán has a muscle injury and has not played since matchday one.

• Maciej Rybus has been out since sustaining an adductor injury against Krasnodar on 1 September but is back in training.

Porto
• Porto suffered their second league defeat of the season on 7 October, going down 1-0 at Benfica – it took them 28 Liga matches in 2017/18 to lose twice.

• Porto suffered a first home Liga defeat in 36 matches on 25 August, going down 3-2 against Vitória SC. Having led 2-0, it was the first time they had lost at home in the league having been two goals up since 1942/43.

• The Dragons reached the last 16 of this season's Portuguese Cup with a 6-0 win at fourth-tier side Vila Real on Friday. Adrián López scored four times, his first Porto goals since finding the net in a 6-0 UEFA Champions League defeat of BATE Borisov on 17 September 2014.

• Porto kicked off 2018/19 with a 3-1 win against Portuguese Cup holders Aves in the domestic Super Cup on 4 August.

• Vincent Aboubakar suffered a serious knee injury against Tondela on 28 September and is expected to be sidelined for several months.

• Hernâni has been out with a thigh injury sustained during a training session before the Benfica game.*

• Riechedly Bazoer suffered a shoulder injury in a game for Porto's B team on 22 September but returned to play 90 minutes at Vila Real.

• Francisco Soares (adductor) and Chancel Mbemba (knee) were left out of Porto's UEFA Champions League squad due to long-term injuries, although the former has played in the last two league games and scored at Vila Real on Friday.