Porto vs Nottingham Forest Preview & Prediction | 2025-26 UEFA Europa League | Quarter-Final
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Portuguese giants FC Porto have been very impressive this season as the Dragons take on their first slayers of the season, Nottingham Forest, at the Dragao this week.
Kick-off date/time:
How to watch on TV: UK – TNT Sports / USA – Not televised
How to watch online: UK – HBO Max / USA – Paramount+
Key stats
- The only previous UEFA encounter between the two sides was a 2-0 home win for Nottingham Forest on Matchday 3 of this season’s Europa League.
- Porto have won only two of their last 14 UEFA matches against English teams (D3 L9).
- Porto are winless in their last seven UEFA Cup/UEFA Europa League matches against English teams (D2 L5).
- Porto have lost their last eight UEFA two‑legged ties against English teams, a run stretching back to their 3-2 aggregate victory over Manchester United in the 2003/04 Champions League round of 16.
- This is Porto’s fifth UEFA Cup/UEFA Europa League quarter‑final appearance (W2 L2). Their most recent was a 4-2 aggregate defeat to Sevilla in 2013/14, while their last success at this stage was a 10-3 aggregate win over Spartak Moskva in 2010/11.
- Porto have lost their last four UEFA competition quarter‑final ties, their most recent success at this stage being their 10-3 aggregate win over Spartak Moskva in the last eight of the 2010/11 UEFA Europa League.
- Porto are unbeaten in their last seven UEFA Europa League matches (W5 D2), winning each of their three most recent games.
- Porto have won all their five UEFA Europa League home matches this season.
- Porto have scored in the first half of all five of their UEFA Europa League home matches this season.
- Both of Nottingham Forest’s previous UEFA matches against Portuguese opposition came in this season’s UEFA Europa League — a 2–0 home win against Porto on Matchday 3 and a 1–0 away defeat to Braga on Matchday 7.
- Nottingham Forest are playing their first UEFA campaign since the 1995/96 UEFA Cup, when they reached the quarter‑finals but were eliminated 7-2 on aggregate by Bayern Munich. Their last success in a UEFA quarter‑final came in the 1983/84 UEFA Cup, when they defeated Sturm Graz 2-1 on aggregate.
- Nottingham Forest have won 18 of their 23 previous UEFA two-legged ties.
- Nottingham Forest have lost only two of their last nine UEFA away matches (W4 D3) and have won three of the four most recent games (L1).
Porto vs Nottingham Forest prediction
With former Ajax and Nice boss Francesco Farioli at the helm, Porto have been extremely impressive this season. The home team sit five points clear of Sporting CP at the top-of-the-table with just five games to go after suffering just one loss in their 28 Liga Portugal matches.
They now face a Nottingham Forest side that did defeat them in the league phase but, with Vitor Pereira now at the helm, will be focused on avoiding Premier League relegation after surprisingly squeezing past Midtjylland on penalties in the round of 16 last month.
Forest will try and make themselves difficult to beat in this first-leg in northern Portugal but Porto have to remain slight favourites for a likely low-scoring encounter on Thursday evening.
Porto vs Nottingham Forest tip: Porto to win & under 3.5 goals
