FC Porto face Stuttgart this Thursday: check out the likely line-up | OneFootball

Six weeks later, FC Porto returns to international competitions. In the first leg of the Europa League round of 16, the Dragons travel to Germany to face VfB Stuttgart at 5:45 PM this Thursday at the Stuttgart Arena (Sport TV5).

The team led by Francesco Farioli makes its debut in the knockout stage after securing direct qualification as a seeded team. In the group stage, they recorded five victories – against Salzburg (1-0), Red Star (2-1), OGC Nice (3-0), Malmö FF (2-1), and Rangers FC (3-1), two draws – in Utrecht (1-1) and in Plzeň (1-1) – and one defeat, in Nottingham (2-0).

VfB Stuttgart defeated Celta de Vigo (2-1), Feyenoord (2-0), Go Ahead Eagles (4-0), Maccabi Tel Aviv (4-1), and Young Boys (3-2), lost to FC Basel (2-0), Fenerbahçe SK (1-0), and AS Roma (2-0), and finished in 11th position in the standings. Forced to play the playoff to secure a place in the round of 16, Sebastian Hoeneß's team went to Scotland and thrashed Celtic FC 4-1, and the home defeat in the second leg (1-0) did not compromise their qualification.

Despite both institutions having started their sporting activities over 130 years ago, FC Porto and VfB Stuttgart had never crossed paths. In 42 official matches against German clubs, Porto won 18, drew eight, and lost 16, scoring 65 goals and conceding 61.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇵🇹 here.