Searching for a place in the Europa League last 16, Porto will host Roma in the first leg of their playoff tie. The hosts barely avoided an early exit by defeating Tel Aviv, making it through as one of the 16 teams placed between ninth and 24th in the league phase. Roma on the other hand finished comfortably in 15th amassing 12 points from eight games.
Under new coach Martin Anselmi who arrived from Cruz Azul, Porto recovered from a home defeat to Olympiacos by going unbeaten in their last four games but with three of those four being draws, Porto are in need of a win. Currently sitting third in the Liga Portugal and having been eliminated from both domestic cups, Porto are having a tough run of form. Now, they will take confidence from their historical dominance over Roma, having won all three previous games between the two. Despite a recent poor record in UEFA knockouts, Porto have won four of their last five home games in Europe, which could provide an advantage in the first leg.
Roma finished one point above Porto in the league phase and have recently been strong in Europe winning the Conference League in 2022 before reaching the Europa League final and semi final in back to back seasons. They secured their place in the playoffs with a 2-0 victory over Eintracht Frankfurt and could set up a last 16 clash with city rivals Lazio if they make it through. However, their domestic form has been underwhelming, sitting ninth in Serie A after a 1-0 win over Venezia. Interim coach Claudio Ranieri has provided some stability but Roma’s away form in the Europa League is concerning with just three wins in their last 19 fixtures.
Diogo Costa will continue in goal while Ivan Marcano, Marko Grujic and Martim Fernandes remain out. Samu Aghehowa who has been a key player in the Europa League needs to regain his form after Porto lost Nico Gonzalez to Manchester City.
Roma’s Mats Hummels and Alexis Saelemaekers must avoid bookings to play in the second leg while Leandro Paredes and Manu Kone return. New signings Devyne Rensch and Victor Nelsson are available but both will probably be coming off the bench.
Porto possible lineup: Costa; Djalo, Perez, Otavio; Mario, Eustaquio, Varela, Moura; Pepe, Mora; Aghehowa
Roma possible lineup: Svilar; Mancini, Hummels, Ndicka; Saelemaekers, Kone, Paredes, Angelino; Dybala, Pisilli; Dovbyk
