How Nottingham Forest could line up in Europa League quarter final tie decider vs Porto | OneFootball

There is no room for caution now as Nottingham Forest prepare to host Porto at City Ground in a crunch Europa League quarter-final tie decider on Thursday night.

After a dramatic 1-1 draw in the first leg in Portugal, both sides have everything to play for later tonight with a place in the semi-final up for grabs.

The stakes have set up a potential box-office showdown at the City Ground, although Forest will be keen to make up for their domestic struggles with continental success.

Vitor Pereira’s side continued their battle for Premier League survival by taking a point in a 1-1 draw against Aston Villa last weekend.

That result stretched their unbeaten streak to five games (W2, D3) and gave them some more breathing space as they sit three points above the relegation zone in 16th place.

However, they must now refocus for a crucial Europa League tie, although their home form in the knockout rounds has been far from inspiring.

Forest have lost both of their home fixtures in the knockout rounds so far, but they’ll fancy their chances of getting past Porto after beating the Portuguese giants 2-0 in the League Phase.

How Nottingham Forest could line up:

Pereira could name a somewhat unchanged line-up from the first leg at the Estádio do Dragão, although the Tricky Trees have been handed a welcome boost in midfield.

Stefan Ortega was the star of the show in the first leg, making an astonishing seven saves to keep Forest firmly in contention for a semi-final place.

The experienced 33-year-old sat out last weekend’s draw with Aston Villa but will likely return between the sticks ahead of Matz Sels.

Ortega should be protected by an unchanged backline of Ola Aina, Murillo, Nikola Milenkovic, and Neco Williams. Elliot Anderson missed the first leg due to suspension.

However, the highly sought-after £100 million-rated midfielder is poised to return in a massive boost to Forest. He’ll likely be joined in midfield by Ibrahim Sangare.

Up front, Callum Hudson-Odoi, Morgan Gibbs-White, and Omari Hutchinson will be looking to do damage while Igor Jesus leads the line.