Porto aim to get their Europa League campaign back on track as they welcome struggling Nice to Estadio do Dragao on Thursday for the first ever meeting between the sides.
The Dragons are without victories across their last two games (D1, L1) in the competition and will look to return to winning ways against a team that has lost all of its matches in this season’s league phase.
Match preview
Porto began the Europa season with victories in their opening two fixtures against Salzburg (1-0) and Red Star Belgrade (2-1) through last-gasp winners, but at no point in their last couple of continental outings did the Dragons look assured of maximum points.
The Blue and Whites suffered their first defeat of the campaign on matchday three, losing 2-0 to Nottingham Forest at the City Ground, while Borja Sainz’s strike could not inspire a comeback win at Utrecht, even with the hosts reduced to 10 men immediately after the 24-year-old forward’s leveller.
Despite slipping out of the top eight – now 14th and one point adrift – it remains hard to imagine a side with an imperious run in 2025-26 failing to secure automatic passage to the knockouts, with Porto winning 14 of their 17 games (D2, L1) across all competitions this term.
Three points clear atop the Primeira Liga summit, the Dragons also progressed to the next round of the Portuguese Cup after dispatching lower-league minnows Sintrense 3-0 at the weekend, making it six wins in seven matches at the Dragao this season (D1).
An impressive home record in the Europa group stage/league phase of seven victories in their last 11 such outings (D3, L1) further suggests Francesco Farioli’s men are capable of victory here as the 36-year-old manager faces his former club.
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Farioli was at the helm of the French side in 2023-24, a campaign that remains etched in the memory of Nice fans for good reason after guiding them to fifth in Ligue 1 and a Europa spot.
Having suffered an early exit last term, Le Gym appear destined for another league phase elimination after failing to collect a single point in their opening four games following 2-1 defeats to Roma, Fenerbahce and Celta Vigo, alongside a 3-1 loss to Freiburg on matchday four.
One of only two sides in the Europa campaign to lose all four fixtures, Franck Haise’s men sit second from bottom in the 36-team standings and have now gone 14 main draw European matches without a win (D4, L10), equalling the worst-ever run by a French side.
Ending this wretched run would also halt a four-game losing streak across all competitions, the most recent being a humiliating 5-1 home defeat to Marseille at the weekend that left Les Gym ninth in the Ligue 1 table.
Nice’s away form has been poor, to say the least, having lost seven of their nine games on the road this season (W1, D1), meaning even a point at the Dragao – however little it could alter their position in the league phase standings – would still represent progress.
Porto Europa League form:
Porto form (all competitions):
Nice Europa League form:
Nice form (all competitions):
Team News
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Farioli received encouraging news from Porto’s medical department this week, with Jan Bednarek and Victor Froholdt – both absent in the previous match – progressing to conditioning training and expected to be available for Thursday’s game.
The treatment room should feel a little lighter, as striker Luuk de Jong also returned from a knee injury with a 15-minute cameo last time out, though Nehuen Perez – not registered in the Europa squad for now – continues rehabilitation.
First-choice goalkeeper Diogo Costa is expected to resume in goal, while Samu Omorodion could lead the line once again, although Deniz Gul also has a strong chance of holding that position after scoring off the bench against Sintrense.
The latest addition to an already lengthy injury list is attacker Sofiane Diop, who was forced off in Nice’s humiliating defeat to Marseille at the weekend, leaving the forward a doubt for Thursday.
Les Gym have struggled with fitness issues in defence this season, with Youssouf Ndayishimiye and Mohamed Abdelmonem still out with cruciate ligament problems, Moise Bombito sidelined with a lower leg issue and Dante missing this game with a knee problem.
Right-back Jonathan Clauss returns to continental contention after serving a suspension in the previous round for a red card received on matchday three.
Despite Les Gym’s difficulties, Mohamed-Ali Cho has scored in three of his last four appearances, including a consolation last time out, and will be relied upon heavily in attack here.
Porto possible starting lineup:
D. Costa; A Costa, Bednarek, Kiwior, Moura; Eustaquio, Rosario, Veiga; Sainz, Aghehowa, Pepe
Nice possible starting lineup:
Diouf; Mendy, Bah, Bard; Clauss, Sanson, Vanhoutte, Abdi; Boga; Carlos, Cho
We say: Porto 3-1 Nice
Nice’s troubles this season have been largely defensive, with Les Gym managing to find the net exactly once in each of their league phase games while losing all of those encounters, and a similar outcome is expected here against a Porto side that has rarely faltered in the 2025-26 campaign.
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