Nottingham Forest eye historic Europa League repeat against high-flying Porto

Nottingham Forest travel to Portugal on Thursday to face Porto in the first leg of their Europa League quarter-final at the Estadio do Dragao.

Both sides are chasing a place in the semi-finals in what promises to be a closely contested European tie.

Porto are in contention for multiple trophies this season. Francesco Farioli’s side currently sit top of Liga Portugal and are also competing in the latter stages of the Europa League and the Taca de Portugal.

The Portuguese giants have built much of their European campaign on their formidable home record.

Porto have won all five of their Europa League matches at the Estadio do Dragao this season and have suffered only one home defeat in all competitions.

Their only loss in the Europa League this season was against Forest in the group stage.

Forest secured a 2-0 victory in that meeting in October, which at the time represented one of the club’s few positive moments in a difficult domestic season.

Despite that win, Forest have endured a challenging Premier League campaign and remain locked in a relegation battle.

However, their European performances have offered a striking contrast to their domestic struggles.

Forest reached the quarter-finals after defeating Fenerbahce and Midtjylland in the knockout stage.

Their victory over Midtjylland came after a dramatic tie that was decided by a penalty shoot-out following a 2-2 aggregate draw.

Manager Vitor Pereira will hope his side can carry their recent momentum into the clash in Portugal.

Forest boosted their confidence with an important 3-0 Premier League win over Tottenham Hotspur before the international break.

That result lifted morale in the squad and strengthened belief ahead of the European quarter-final.

Forest have also shown resilience away from home in recent weeks.

They have lost only once in their last five away matches in all competitions and have been competitive in their Europa League travels this season.

However, Porto are expected to present a far tougher challenge in front of their own supporters.

The Portuguese club’s aggressive attacking style and strong home record have made them one of the most difficult opponents in the competition.

With a place in the Europa League semi-finals at stake, both sides know the importance of taking a positive result into the second leg.

Porto will aim to use home advantage to build an early lead in the tie.

Forest will attempt to repeat their earlier success against Porto and return to England with a valuable result from Lisbon.