Europa League | League Stage

Nov 7, 2024 at 8pm UK

Stadio Olimpico

Lazio vs Porto

Match preview

In a bit of an unusual scheduling move by Serie A, Lazio played as recently as Monday, but came through it unscathed, beating Cagliari 2-1 to move into fifth, three points off the summit.

Marco Baroni's side are doing really well in the league and they're also doing great in Europe, with three wins from three so far. They've been in the lead for 80% of their Europa League games.

Lazio are doing just as well as Tottenham Hotspur and Anderlecht, with a 100% record and an impressive goal difference of plus-eight.

What's been really impressive is how convincing the victories have been. This is a club that has often struggled in the early stages of European campaigns in recent years.

The team's home form has been a big part of their success so far this season. Baroni has now seen his team win five games in a row at the Stadio Olimpico, contributing to a 13-game unbeaten run at home for Lazio.

In their last nine games, Lazio have only lost once, 1-0 at Juventus. That shows just how tough it will be for Porto when they come to play them.

Porto have a strong record against Lazio, having never lost to them in four previous meetings.

Porto are on a six-game winning streak, with 17 goals scored and none conceded in over eight hours of play. They're one of the most in-form sides in Europe right now.

Vitor Bruno's team had a slow start, losing to Sporting Lisbon and Bodo/Glimt in two different competitions. This means they're still playing catch-up, with three points behind Sporting and in 15th place in the Europa League.

They've moved up the standings thanks to the win against Hoffenheim, with Samu Omorodion playing a big part in that, scoring the winning goal and moving up to the top of the Europa League scoring charts.

Porto have not faced any team in the form of Lazio at such a high level though, and the Dragons are often poor travellers to Italy, as in 12 previous trips to the country, Porto have won only once, but that did come in this stadium, against Lazio's rivals Roma back in August 2016.

Recent Performance

Lazio Europa League form:WWW

Lazio form (all competitions):WLWWWW

Porto Europa League form:LDW

Porto form (all competitions):WWWWWW

Team News

Lazio captain Mattia Zaccagni was back in action on Monday, coming on as a late substitute and scoring the winner from the penalty spot in their 2-1 victory over Cagliari. He should be fit to start here.

Nuno Tavares missed the game due to suspension but will be back, but Tijjani Noslin's red card in the first game against Dynamo Kyiv means he will serve the last game of his ban here.

In defence, Manuel Lazzari made his first start in over six weeks on Monday, and could get an early run-out here for the first time in this competition this season.

Porto defender Zaidu Sanusi has kept up his recovery from an ACL tear by playing for the club's B team at the weekend, but the medical staff are still being really cautious about including him in the first team.

Ivan Marcano is still out with the same injury, and left-back Wendell is also set to miss this game due to a muscle problem.

After scoring two goals as a substitute in the 4-0 win over Estoril at the weekend, Galeno is likely to come in on the wing, having started Porto's previous two European matches.

Possible starting lineups

Lazio possible starting lineup:

Mandas; Lazzari, Gila, Romagnoli, Nuno Tavares; Vecino, Dele-Bashiru; Pedro, Dia, Zaccagni; Castellanos

Porto possible starting lineup:

Diogo Costa; Martim Fernandes, Perez, Tiago Djalo, Moura; Varela, Nico, Ivan Jaime; Pepe, Samu, Galeno