Kick off
Peep! Peep! Peep! Here we go!
The players are out …
Thiago Silva is at the back for Porto, at a very young 41. He must ruddy love football. I would have been a deck chair long ago. It is, however, nice to know there are still a few active footballers who are older than me.
This is relevant, in many ways, to this game.
Looking forward to Ben Fisher’s follow up tonight’s match.
He will be sat in the press box with a francesinha and Super Bock.
Good to see Zach Abbott getting more minutes today. The defender has plenty of potential but has not been given enough minutes to progress. I suspect he will head out on loan next season.
And Andy Robertson is leaving Liverpool in the summer …
I am sure Uefa are doing this for the good of the game and no other reason …
Chris Wood is back but where everyone fits into that XI is a bit of a guess. Not an obvious formation to be found.
Starting lineups
Porto (4-3-3): Diogo Costa; Martim, Thiago, Bednarek, Zaidu; Pablo, Fofana, Gabri; William, Borja, Moffi
Subs: Ramos, Joao Costa, Kiwior, Froholdt, Pepe, Alberto Costa, Prpic, Varela, Deniz Gul, Tiago Silva, Moura, Mora
Forest (3-4-2-1): Ortega; Abbott, Morato, Murillo; Bakwa; Yates, Dominguez, Ndoye; McAtee, Gibbs-White; Wood
Subs: Sels, Williams, Sangare, Hudson-Odoi, Jesus, Lucca, Hutchinson, Milenkovic, Aina, Whitehall, Sinclair, Hanks
Pre-match reading, courtesy of your man Ben Fisher who is literally in Porto.
Preamble
Who can forget that night in October when Sean Dyche won his first game in charge of Nottingham Forest against Porto in the Europa League? It looked like things were set at the City Ground, having moved onto their third head coach of the season. Six months on and plenty has happened in between but, against the odds, they are still flying in high in Europe and face Porto for a second time.
Vitor Pereira is now in charge and for the second time since becoming head coach is travelling abroad to face a club he previously managed. Fenerbahce were swept aside as the Portuguese’s first act and he will be eyeing similar tonight. The international break allowed some of the squad to rest up amid a hectic campaign of playing twice a week and it should be a fresh side that visits Portugal, including the returning Chris Wood. They pummelled Tottenham in their most recent outing in the Premier League, bringing some much-needed confidence in a relegation battle.
Let’s hope for a cracker.
Kick-off: 8pm BST.
