Key Takeaways
- Nottingham Forest welcome Porto to the City Ground with the tie still goal-less after the first leg in Portugal.
- Vitor Pereira has picked a near-full-strength side, resting only centre-back Martim Fernandes.
- A win would send Forest into their first European semi-final since 1984, and the crowd expect a loud night.
The City Ground is bathed in early-evening calm, yet the quiet will not last. Kick-off is near and blue-and-white shirts are already dotted around the stands. Porto followers fill the away section and several corporate boxes, ready to back their team after last week’s frustrating draw at the Estádio do Dragão.
Vitor Pereira’s men controlled long spells of the first leg but could not score. Tonight he keeps faith in most of that starting XI, handing Jair Cunha a rare start at centre-half in place of Martim Fernandes. The absence of Fernandes robs the visitors of some bite, and Forest hope to exploit the change.
For Steve Cooper’s side, the maths are simple: win and they march into the last four of a continental competition for the first time in almost forty years. The Trentside crowd, famed for turning European nights into cauldron’s, plan to roar their team over the line from the first whistle.