Key events
53 mins: Porto have a corner on the right. William curls it in to the front post, from where it is flicked on, forcing Dominguez to head clear off the line.
51 mins: I am not sure what the commentators are on about with regards to Pepe coming on for William because the latter is definitely still on the pitch and the former is not.
49 mins: I suspect Forest will be happy to leave with a draw, so might slow things down at times here.
Not on this occasion, however, as they break up field but it concludes prematurely when Bakwa loses the ball.
Down the other end, William has a chance on the right, he cuts in then drags a shot wide.
47 mins: Fofana receives the ball in a decent position inside the box but takes too long and is crowded out.
Second half
Here we go again!
Milenkovic and Jesus on for Murillo and Wood.
Half-time reading …
Justin Kavanagh emails: “Poor Martim Fernandes, sitting on the bench, surrounded by teammates but feeling like the loneliest 20-year-old alive. It’s one thing missing from 12 yards in a shoot-out or some such, but a 45-yard own goal will be a 3-a.m.-sweat-soaker of a memory to try and banish.”
Half time: Porto 1-1 Nottingham Forest
In the early stages, it looked like Porto would run away with the game – and possibly the tie – but a bizarre own goal from Martim changed the momentum. The Portuguese side still look the better of the two but Forest have a sniff.
45+1 mins: William digs out a cross for Moffi to attack; the striker gets in a decent header from six yards but Ortega reads it and makes a fine save.
45 mins: Three minutes added on.
43 mins: Wood being thrown in after six months out is a reminder of how useless Lucca has been since arriving in January. Forest need a focal point and the Italian is not it.
41 mins: Forest have certainly improved since their fortunate equaliser but I still feel the defence can be opened up with relative ease.
39 mins: Yates nods a looping header at goal but it is a straightforward claim for Diogo Costa.
37 mins: It becomes quite crowded on the edge of the Forest box, making things difficult for Porto. Gabriel Veiga gets a half chance on the edge of the box but his shot lacks power and accuracy.
35 mins: The Porto fans are booing, which is quite funny in its way. It’s only 1-1 lads. Be patient.
33 mins: Forest enjoy their best spell of possession, concluding with Gibbs-White pulling a cross back for McAtee but a Porto foot reaches it first.
31 mins: Murillo dribbles a good 50 yards up the pitch but then loses possession.
29 mins: Ndoye’s shot is deflected, and Bednarek looks to have it covered but takes to long, allowing Wood to get in front of him. The striker goes down and wants a penalty but the referee is having none of it.
27 mins: Bakwa tries to pick out Wood in the box but the Porto defence is disciplined.
25 mins: You have to assume Pereira will change the defensive formation at some point, otherwise Forest could be on the end of a pummelling here.
23 mins: Ortega is forced to come out of his area to head a ball over the top clear. Fofana tries to fire over the goalkeeper into an empty net but does not get a clean hit.
Porto are cutting Forest open every time they get the ball.
21 mins: Forest have a corner on the left after a desperate attempt from Alberto Costa to claim foul. Bakwa swings in two in a row in the end but neither come to anything.
19 mins: Martim is being replaced. Alberto Costa is on. A dreadful appearance from the poor lad.
17 mins: Martim is now down injured, requiring treatment. I am not if it’s hurt pride but he certainly looks in pain. He was accidentally caught by Ndoye while he was tumbling to the ground after being fouled by Veiga.
15 mins: Forest are lucky to be level and really need to up their game here because they are struggling.
Veiga is booked for going through the back of Ndoye.
GOAL! Martim decides to send a 45-yard backpass to the goalkeeper but Diogo Costa is outside of his area and can’t react quickly enough to the overstruck pass, which slips into an empty net.
GOAL! Porto 1-1 Nottingham Forest (Martim og, 13)
WHAT A SHOCKER!
GOAL! Porto’s sharper start pays off. A clever pass from Rosario to Veiga, allows the latter to slide a cross into the corridor of certainty, going all the way through to William, who taps home.
GOAL! Porto 1-0 Nottingham Forest (William, 11)
William pops at the back post to finish.
10 mins: Forest seem happy to slow things down before pinging it long to Wood, who is there to hold it up. Admittedly, the Kiwi is a little rusty and not winning much in the air.
8 mins: A smart move from Porto ends with Gabriel Veiga setting up Sainz on the edge of the box but his shot is straight at Ortega. Porto look the sharper side.
We have a VAR check with Murillo accused of pulling back Moffi inside the box but the Forest defender is eventually cleared of wrongdoing.
6 mins: The two teams seem to be feeling one another out for now.
4 mins: Ndoye gets into a decent position down the left but his cross finds Thiago Silva in the middle and that man knows how to clear a football.
2 mins: Porto almost ahead within 60 seconds. The hosts break and Moffi is through, one-on-one with Ortega but the goalkeeper comes out on top. There is a chance on the rebound but Ortega snaffles it.
Kári Tulinius emails: “I watched Porto handle a very good Stuttgart side with ease in the last round. They kept the German side at bay with a minimum of fuss, and flew forward when they won the ball. Forest have to fully on it in this tie because these Dragons have a bite.”
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.
