Porto will look to continue their dominance over Roma as the teams are reunited in the round of 16 with the Portuguese champions having won both previous ties between the clubs.
• Porto come into this tie having won their last five fixtures to finish top of Group D, scoring three goals or more in each of their last four outings. Roma, meanwhile, were second to holders Real Madrid in Group G and have lost their last two UEFA Champions League games – although their campaign has also included their biggest victory in the competition.
Previous meetings
• Porto are unbeaten in their four matches with Roma, knocking out the Italian side in the second round of the 1981/82 European Cup Winners’ Cup thanks to a 2-0 home first-leg victory that took them through by the same aggregate scoreline.
• Porto players also provided both goals when the sides met again in Portugal in the 2016/17 UEFA Champions League play-offs, although this time it ended in a 1-1 draw; André Silva’s 61st-minute penalty got the home side back on terms after a Felipe own goal had given Roma a first-half lead.
• The Portuguese side turned on the style in the Stadio Olimpico return, goals from Felipe (8), Miguel Layún (73) and Jesús Corona (75) earning an impressive victory and a place in the group stage.
• Aside from the goalscorers, Iker Casillas, Maxi Pereira, Alex Telles, Héctor Herrera, Danilo, Otávio, Sérgio Oliveira and Adrián López all featured for Porto in that tie with Iván Marcano, who swapped Porto for Roma last summer, playing all 180 minutes for the Portuguese side. Juan Jesus, Diego Perotti, Kosas Manolas, Daniele De Rossi, Edin Džeko and Federico Fazio appeared for Roma.
Form guide
Roma
• Roma’s round of 16 record is W3 L3. They beat Lyon (2006/07) and Real Madrid (2007/08) in their first two appearances, but then lost to Arsenal (2008/09), Shakhtar Donetsk (2010/11) and Madrid (2015/16) before beating Shakhtar on away goals last season (1-2 away, 1-0 home).
• Roma had lost five successive matches in the round of 16 before that second-leg win against Shakhtar last season.
• Roma, runners-up in the 1983/84 European Cup, reached the semi-finals last season, beating Shakhtar and Barcelona in the knockout rounds – when a 4-1 away defeat was followed by a 3-0 victory at the Stadio Olimpico – before succumbing to Liverpool.
• Džeko scored in Roma’s last five knockout matches in last season’s competition.
• Roma’s record in two-legged knockout ties against Portuguese sides is W3 L3; the 2016/17 defeat by Porto ended a run of three successive victories.
• The 3-0 home defeat against Porto in August 2016 was Roma’s first loss at home to Portuguese visitors since a 2-1 reverse against Benfica in March 1983. Their record between those two losses was W3 D1.
• That 2016 loss to Porto was only Roma’s second in their last 11 matches against Portuguese clubs (W5 D4).
• At home in this season’s group stage, Roma beat Viktoria Plzeň 5-0 – their biggest UEFA Champions League win – and CSKA Moskva 3-0 before a 2-0 defeat by Real Madrid that ended a seven-match winning European run at the Stadio Olimpico.
• Roma have now won eight of their last 16 home matches in the UEFA Champions League – qualifying included – losing five.
Porto
• Porto suffered a heavy defeat in last season’s round of 16, losing 5-0 at home to Liverpool and on aggregate.
• Porto’s record in the round of 16 is W3 L7, and they have won only one of their last five ties. They have reached this stage for the third year in a row but have not made it to the quarter-finals since 2014/15.
• Porto have won five of their nine two-legged ties against Italian clubs, although the most recent, against Juventus in the 2016/17 round of 16, ended in a 3-0 aggregate defeat (0-2 home, 0-1 away).
• That 2016 win at Roma was Porto’s first victory in seven visits to Italy (D2 L4), since a 3-2 success at AC Milan in the 1996/97 group stage.
• Porto are unbeaten in their last five UEFA Champions League away games (W2 D3). In this season’s group stage, they opened with a 1-1 draw at Schalke before victories at Lokomotiv Moskva (3-1) and Galatasaray (3-2).
• Porto have still won only three of their last nine European away games (D4 L2). They had drawn three in a row before winning at Lokomotiv.
• The Dragons’ last European defeat came in last season’s round of 16 first leg to Liverpool; their record since then is W5 D2. They have won the last five, setting a new club record for successive wins and eclipsing their previous best set in the 1996/97 group stage.
• Porto’s tally of 16 points was the highest of any club in this season’s group stage.
Links and trivia
• Marcano played for Porto between 2014 and 2018, winning the Portuguese league title in 2017/18.
• Porto coach Sérgio Conceição played for Roma’s city rivals Lazio between 1998 and 2000, winning the UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup in his first season and Serie A and the Cppa Italia in his second, and again in 2003/04 following spells with Parma and Inter. His record against Roma was W2 D3 L4.
• Conceição faced current Roma coach Di Francesco four times in the Rome derby; one win for Lazio, two for Roma and a 3-3 draw in which Di Francesco scored.
• Džeko scored in Manchester City’s 4-0 win against Porto in the 2011/12 UEFA Europa League round of 16.
• Džeko and Aleksandar Kolarov scored past Casillas as the latter’s Real Madrid beat Manchester City 3-2 in the 2012/13 UEFA Champions League group stage.
• Otávio scored past Robin Olsen when Porto drew 1-1 with København in the 2016/17 UEFA Champions League group stage.
• Have played in Italy:
Alex Telles (Internazionale 2015/16)
Danilo (Parma 2011/12)
• Has played in Portugal
Bryan Cristante (Benfica 2014–16)
• Have played together:
Antonio Mirante & Danilo (Parma 2011/12)
Bryan Cristante & Maxi Pereira (Benfica 2014/15)
Juan Jesus, Davide Santon & Alex Telles (Internazionale 2015/16)
• Juan Jesus played for Internacional between 2010 and 12, when Otávio was in the club’s Under-17 side.
• International team-mates:
Iván Marcano & Adrián López (Spain Under-21)
• De Rossi scored past Casillas when Roma lost 4-2 against Real Madrid in the 2004/05 UEFA Champions League group stage.
• Casillas saved a De Rossi penalty when Spain defeated Italy on penalties in the UEFA EURO 2008 quarter-finals. The Roma midfielder scored his spot kick past Casillas in the 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup semi-finals shoot-out, but Spain again emerged victorious.
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