Porto take aim at Eintracht

The UEFA Europa League round of 32 brings together two former winners of the trophy in FC Porto and Eintracht Frankfurt.

Previous meetings
• The sides have never met before and this is Eintracht's first tie against a Portuguese team.

• Porto's record in 25 games against German clubs is W11 D5 L9 (W7 D2 L3 at home – W3 D3 L6 in Germany). The Dragons enjoyed one of their finest hours against a Bundesliga outfit, beating FC Bayern München 2-1 in the 1986/87 European Champion Clubs' Cup final in Vienna.

Match background
• Porto are without a victory in five European games (D2 L3) since beating FK Austria Wien 1-0 in their opening UEFA Champions League group stage fixture this season. They have not won in their last three continental home matches (D1 L2).

• Porto have not prevailed in a UEFA Europa League game since winning the 2010/11 competition, defeating SC Braga 1-0 in the Dublin final. They lost both of their subsequent fixtures, against Manchester City FC in the 2011/12 round of 32.

• Eintracht are playing in the spring phase of a European competition for the first time since losing to Juventus in the 1994/95 UEFA Cup quarter-finals.

• Eintracht have won seven of their eight UEFA Europa League games this season, the only aberration being a 4-2 loss at Maccabi Tel-Aviv FC in the group stage.

Team facts
• Eintracht are one of four previous UEFA Cup winners to have made it through the group stage along with Tottenham Hotspur FC (1972, 1984), Sevilla FC (2006, 2007) and Valencia CF (2004). Porto (2003 and 2011) are one of the five former winners of the trophy who have now parachuted into the competition from the UEFA Champions League group stage, along with SSC Napoli (1989), FC Shakhtar Donetsk (2009), AFC Ajax (1992) and final hosts Juventus (1977, 1990, 1993).

• Porto are one of nine domestic champions in the round of 32 along with Ajax (Netherlands), FC Basel 1893 (Switzerland), Juventus (Italy), PFC Ludogorets Razgrad (Bulgaria), Maccabi Tel-Aviv FC (Israel), NK Maribor (Slovenia), FC Viktoria Plzeň (Czech Republic), and Shakhtar (Ukraine).

Coach information
• Appointed in the summer of 2013, Mozambique-born Porto coach Paulo Fonseca was a central defender, representing FC Barreirense, Leça FC, CF Os Belenenses, CS Marítimo, Vitória SC and CF Estrela da Amadora, where he became youth coach in his early 30s. He worked his way up the leagues as a coach, getting the Porto job after leading unfancied FC Paços de Ferreira to a third-place Liga finish in 2012/13.

• Hired in May 2011, Armin Veh led Eintracht to promotion in his first season in charge and into Europe as sixth-place finishers in his second. As a midfielder, he was in the VfL Borussia Mönchengladbach squad that lost to Eintracht in the 1980 UEFA Cup final, before a broken leg ended his career. As a coach, he won the 2006/07 German title at VfB Stuttgart prior to less successful spells with VfL Wolfsburg and Hamburger SV.

Round of 16
• The winners of this tie will take on the victors between Swansea City AFC and Napoli in the round of 16, playing the first leg at home.

• Eintracht have never met Swansea, but beat Napoli 1-0 in both legs of their only previous meeting, a 1994/95 UEFA Cup third round tie.

• Porto are yet to meet Swansea, but took on Napoli in the 1974/75 UEFA Cup second round, losing 1-0 home and away.