Key events
Forest coach Vítor Pereira speaks to TNT Sports. “One chance … just today, not tomorrow … today is the game … we have to do everything to show our ambition … show our quality, personality and organisation to be in the next round … in three days we play again in an important game in the league … Porto play with intensity … we must learn from the last game and play on a better level today … my condolence to the [Anderson] family … a very sad situation and we need to respect.”
Our man Will Unwin is currently sunning himself on the rolling verdant verges of the River Trent. Here’s his pre-match scene-setter.
It is currently a calm night on the banks of the Trent, although it will get quite lively come kick-off. There are plenty of Porto fans inside the City Ground, both in the away end and elsewhere in the corporate areas.
The Portuguese side will be disappointed they did not come away with from the first leg after an impressive display but Forest dug in to ensure things are level after 90 minutes. Vitor Pereira has selected a strong team, with centre-back the only area he has selected a backup in the form of Jair Cunha. If the Premier League side do get this done, it will be a historic night for the club and the home supporters will play their part. The bad news for them is Martim Fernandes is not playing, so they will have to do their own dirty work today.
Forest have five players who are one yellow card away from suspension. Of tonight’s starters, Murillo and Morgan Gibbs-White are on the tightrope; Morato, Igor Jesus and Ryan Yates will also need to watch themselves should they come on.
Six members of the Porto starting line-up are a booking away from missing out on the first leg of the semi should their team make it. Jan Bednarek, William Gomes, Gabriel Veiga, Zaidu, Pablo Rosario and Alberto Costa are all on Behaviour Watch, as is Dominik Prpić should he see action tonight.
Nottingham Forest make five changes from last week’s starting XI. Neco Williams, Ibrahim Sangaré, Omari Hutchinson, Jair Cunha and Ola Aina come in for Morato, Ryan Yates, James McAtee, Dilane Bakwa and Zach Abbott. Elliott Anderson misses the game after the passing of his mother; he had been suspended for last week’s first leg.
Porto make one change from last week. Alberto Costa replaces the injured Martim Fernandes, scorer of that unfortunate long-range own goal in the first leg. Followers of the Premier League will spot some old friends in the Porto squad: Thiago Silva won the Champions League and Club World Cup with Chelsea back in 2021, Jan Bednarek spent eight years at Southampton between 2017 and 2025, and Jakub Kiwior is currently on loan from Arsenal.
The teams
Nottingham Forest: Ortega, Cunha, Murillo, Williams, Aina, Gibbs-White, Sangare, Dominguez, Ndoye, Hutchinson, Wood.
Subs: Sels, Willows, Morato, Hudson-Odoi, Jesus, Lucca, Yates, McAtee, Bakwa, Milenkovic, Abbott, Sinclair.
Porto: Diogo Costa, Alberto Costa, Thiago Silva, Bednarek, Zaidu, Fofana, Rosario, Veiga, Gomes, Moffi, Sainz.
Subs: Ramos, Joao Costa, Kiwior, Froholdt, Pepe, Prpic, Varela, Gui, Tiago Silva, Bras, Moura, Mora.
Referee: Danny Makkelie (Netherlands).
Preamble
Six months ago this happened …
… which has got to augur well for Nottingham Forest (even if it didn’t serve as much of a promising harbinger for poor old Sean Dyche). Throw in the fact that Porto have played 24 competitive matches in England and have yet to win one (D3 L21) and all signs point to YES for Vítor Pereira and his charges. The winner of this tie gets to play the victor of Aston Villa and Bologna, and the prospect of an ATVLand rammy for a place in the final is almost too much excitement for a brain to contain. So come on Forest, giddy up Villa, let’s make this happen. Kick-off is at 8pm BST, with the scores level at 1-1 after the fiasco-tinged first leg. It’s on!
