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Stakes high as Fenerbahçe face Porto

It is win or bust for Group G's bottom side Fenerbahçe SK when they welcome an FC Porto team buoyed by a dramatic comeback win in Kiev and scenting the chance to secure their place in the last 16 once again.

It has been a tough campaign for Fenerbahçe and their coach Luis Aragonés
It has been a tough campaign for Fenerbahçe and their coach Luis Aragonés ©Getty Images

Their hopes revived by a dramatic comeback victory in Ukraine, FC Porto travel to Fenerbahçe SK on Matchday 5 hoping to secure a second consecutive away success and, potentially, a place in the UEFA Champions League first knockout round.

• Two-time winners Porto moved up into second place in Group G after second-half goals from Rolando and Lucho – the latter two minutes into added time – secured a 2-1 success at FC Dynamo Kyiv on 5 November.

• With a one-point lead over third-placed Dynamo, Porto can now book their passage to the last 16 if they take all three points at the Sükrü Saraçoglu Stadium and Dynamo fail to win their fixture away at Arsenal FC.

• Fenerbahçe, for their part, are desperate for the three points themselves. Luis Aragonés' men sit bottom of the section with two points and will be eliminated if they fail to win.

• The Turkish side put together a sequence of five straight home victories during their run to the quarter-finals of last season's UEFA Champions League but they have failed to maintain those standards this term, drawing 0-0 with Dynamo in Istanbul on Matchday 2 and losing 5-2 to Arsenal – a defeat that ended their 15-match unbeaten home run in Europe.

• Porto's away form has been mixed – they lost 4-0 at Arsenal prior to beating Dynamo – yet they can at least take encouragement from having defeated their opponents 3-1 in Portugal on Matchday 1. Jesualdo Ferreira's side secured the victory through goals from Lisandro (10), Lucho (13) and Lino (90+2), with Daniel Güiza (29) finding the net for Fenerbahçe.

• This is the sixth consecutive group-stage campaign for Porto and only once in the past five seasons have they failed to progress to the knockout phase.

• Porto had faced Turkish opposition only twice prior to this season. They overcame Denizlispor 8-3 on aggregate in the 2002/03 UEFA Cup fourth round and recorded home and away victories against Beşiktaş JK in last season's UEFA Champions League group stage, winning 1-0 in Istanbul, then 2-0 on home soil.

• Fenerbahçe suffered their heaviest defeat in continental competition against Portuguese opposition, going down 7-0 to SL Benfica in the first round of the 1975/76 European Champion Clubs' Cup.

• They had a happier time against Vitória SC in the 1990/91 UEFA Cup first round, winning 3-0 at home then 3-2 in Portugal to secure a 6-2 aggregate success.

• Porto midfielder Raul Meireles came off the bench to score Portugal's second goal in their 2-0 win against Turkey in the teams' opening Group A game in Geneva at UEFA EURO 2008™. On the losing side were Fenerbahçe's Volkan Demirel, Emre Belözoğlu, Kazım Kazım and Semih Şentürk.

• Fenerbahçe full-back Roberto Carlos faced Porto seven times during his time with Real Madrid CF and finished on the losing side only once – tasting victory on five occasions.