After crashing out of the Champions League, FC Porto begin their quest in the UEFA Europa League with a knockout phase playoff clash with Lazio. The Italians have been erratic lately and could struggle at the Estadio do Dragao.
It has been a disappointing European campaign so far for Porto as they crashed out of the Champions League after claiming just one win from their six group stage matches. They are former winners of the Europa League and will be seeking a fresh start on Thursday.
Porto will be looking to transmit their dominant form in Portugal to the Europa League. They are unbeaten in the Primeira Liga and are currently six points clear at the top of the table.
Porto fought back from two goals down to earn a 2-2 draw with Sporting CP last Friday. That was the first domestic points dropped at the Estadio do Dragao this season as they head into Thursday’s clash with six wins from their last seven home matches.
A second-place finish in the group stage of the Europa League was enough to earn Lazio a spot in the knockout phase playoffs. They have suffered just one defeat so far in the competition but claimed just two wins during the group stage.
Lazio warmed up for the trip to Porto with a 3-0 victory over Bologna in Serie A last Saturday. However, they have blown hot and cold in recent weeks and that result was only their third regulation time win in the last eight matches across all competitions.
One area that needs some improvement for Lazio is their away record in the Europa League. Maurizio Sarri’s men have claimed just one win from their last eight matches on the road in the competition, suffering six defeats in that run.
How the bookies view it
Porto have the upper hand among the bookies at 6/5 with Quinnbet while a victory for Lazio is valued at 5/2 with betfair. A draw is set at odds of 13/5 by Unibet.
Head to head
There have been only two previous meetings between Porto and Lazio with the Portuguese giants overcoming their rivals on their way to winning the Europa League in 2003. They claimed a 4-1 victory at the Estadio do Dragao before playing out a 0-0 draw in Italy.
Players to watch
Mehdi Taremi has shown he can step into the shoes of top scorer Luis Diaz and will be the one to watch on Thursday. The striker was on target last time out in the Primeira Liga and is priced at 19/12 by SBK to find the net.
As always, Ciro Immobile will be the one to watch for Lazio having scored three goals during the group stage. SBK has the striker at odds of 32/19 to get on the score sheet on Thursday.
Anything else catch the eye?
Porto and Lazio have plenty of quality in attack and both teams could be backed to score at 3/4 with betway. Over 2.5 goals could also be considered at 13/14 with SBK while bet365 is offering odds of 12/5 on over 3.5 goals.
Porto have scored in both halves in four of their last five home matches and could be set for a repeat at 12/5 with bet365.
This UEFA Europa League match between FC Porto and Lazio will be played on Feb 17, 2022 and kick off at 20:00. Check below for our tipsters best FC Porto vs Lazio prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
