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The UEFA Europa League returns to action in midweek as Porto and Lazio lock horns at the Estadio do Dragao on Thursday.
The visitors finished second in Group E, three points off first-placed Galatasaray, while the hosts were knocked out of the Champions League.
Porto’s blistering run took to a slight halt last Friday as they were held to a thrilling 2-2 draw by Sporting Lisbon on home turf.
Prior to that, the Dragons were on an 11-game winning streak, scoring 29 goals and keeping five clean sheets.
After finishing third in Group B of the Champions League, Porto now head to the Europa League where they will look to immediately return to winning ways.
Lazio, on the other hand, claimed a comfortable 3-0 victory over Bologna when they met in Serie A last time out.
This followed a humbling 4-0 loss at the hands of AC Milan which saw them crash out of the Coppa Italia in the quarter-finals.
Having picked up nine points from six games, Lazio finished runners-up in Group E of the Europa League, three points adrift of first-place Galatasaray.
Porto vs Lazio Head-To-Head
This will be the fourth-ever meeting between the sides. Porto boast a superior record in their previous three encounters, claiming two wins, while the spoils have been shared once.
Porto Form Guide: W-W-W-W-D
Lazio Form Guide: W-D-W-L-W
Porto vs Lazio Team News
Porto
The hosts remain without the services of Wilson Manafá, who has been sidelined through injuries. Wendell and Agustin Marchesin are currently suspended.
Injured: Wilson Manafá
Suspended: Wendell, Agustin Marchesin
Lazio
Manuel Lazzari and Francesco Acerbi are recuperating from knee and thigh injuries respectively and will sit out Thursday’s game. Jean-Daniel Akpa Akpro is also on the club’s injury table.
Injured: Manuel Lazzari, Francesco Acerbi, Jean-Daniel Akpa Akpro
Suspended: None
Porto vs Lazio Predicted XI
Porto Predicted XI (4-4-2): Diogo Costa; Bruno Costa, Chancel Mbemba, Pepe, Zaidu Sanusi; Francisco Conceicao, Stephen Eustaquio, Mateus Uribe, Pepe; Mehdi Taremi, Fabio Vieira
Lazio Predicted XI (4-3-3): Thomas Strakosha; Elseid Hysaj, Patric, Luis Felipe, Adam Marusic; Danilo Cataldi, Sergej Milinkovic-Savic, Luis Alberto; Ciro Immobile, Mattia Zaccagni, Pedro
Porto vs Lazio Prediction
Porto have been utterly dominant domestically and we expect them to carry on their league form into the Europa League. While we see the visitors putting up a fight, we are backing Porto to make use of their home advantage and pick up a first-leg win.
Prediction: Porto 2-1 Lazio
