Manchester United are unbeaten in their last 12 major European matches against Portuguese clubs (W9 D3) since losing 2-1 to Benfica in December 2005.
Porto have won their last three major European home matches, all in last season’s UEFA Champions League. They haven’t won four in a row since March 2019.
Man Utd’s last four away European matches have seen 23 goals scored (9 for, 14 against), at an average of 5.75 per game.
“Nothing is easy, but this is nothing for me to panic about,” Erik ten Hag told Sky Sports earlier this week. That follows a run of just three wins in nine competitive fixtures this season, with one of those victories coming in the League Cup over third-tier side Barnsley at Old Trafford.
Ten Hag will be feeling the pressure if his United side lose in Porto on Thursday night, in a fixture that is far from easy for the Dutch boss and his side.
The Portuguese giants have won seven of their nine competitive games so far this season, but one of those two defeats came in a shock 3-2 loss in Norway on Matchday 1 of this competition to Bodø/Glimt, despite taking an early lead. Porto attempted 28 shots in that game, their most in a major European competition match since March 2019 against Roma in the Champions League (31).
United hardly impressed in their own Europa League opener, either. Their 1-1 home draw with unfancied Dutch side FC Twente saw them take a first-half lead via Christian Eriksen but fail to hold on to all three points despite having nearly three times as many attempts as their opponents (19-7).
That draw meant Man Utd have now gone on to win just one of their last six major European matches in which they have taken the lead (D3 L2).
