Leading pair Beşiktaş and Porto meet in Istanbul

One significant figure has changed sides since Beşiktaş JK last met FC Porto, with the two sides leading the way in UEFA Europa League Group L ahead of their Matchday 3 meeting.

Previous meetings
• The teams' two previous meetings came in the 2007/08 UEFA Champions League group stage, with Jesualdo Ferreira's Porto beating Ertuğrul Sağlam's Black Eagles 1-0 in Istanbul and 2-0 in Portugal. Ricardo Quaresma – a Beşiktaş player since the summer – was on target for Porto in both games.

• The lineups for their meeting in Istanbul on 3 October 2007 were:
Beşiktaş: Hakan Arıkan*, Serdar Kurtuluş (Ali Tandoğan, 71), Gökhan Zan, Delgado, Bobô* (Mert Nobre*, 27), Rodrigo Tello, Cissé, İbrahim Üzülmez*, Serdar Özkan, İbrahim Akın (Higuaín, 67), İbrahim Toraman*.
Porto: Helton*, Bruno Alves, Stepanov, Assunção, Quaresma*, Lucho, Lisandro (Adriano, 75), Bosingwa, Fucile*, Raul Meireles (Leandro Lima, 88), Sektioui (Čech, 66).

*eligible to play in this game.

Match background
• As well as their two games against Porto, Beşiktaş won 3-1 at Vitória SC in the 2005/06 UEFA Cup group stage, with that victory making their overall record against Portuguese sides W1 D0 L2 (W0 D0 L1 at home).

• Porto have faced Turkish sides on six occasions in total, with their record reading W5 D1 L0 (W3 D0 L0 at home). All of those home wins have been by margins of at least two goals; Fenerbahçe SK went down 3-1 in the 2008/09 UEFA Champions League while Denizlispor were beaten 6-1 in the 2003/04 UEFA Cup.

• Beşiktaş have won their last four European home games without conceding, while a 1-0 success against PFC CSKA Sofia on Matchday 1 ended a three-game losing streak at home in group stage matches.

• Porto have won all four of their European games this season as well as four of their last five continental away fixtures either side of a 5-0 defeat at Arsenal FC in last season's UEFA Champions League round of 16.

Team facts
• Beşiktaş need four more goals to reach 100 in the UEFA Cup and UEFA Europa League.

• Porto won 24 corners in their opening two group stage games; more than any other side in the competition.

• Beşiktaş coach since June, Bernd Schuster started his career at 1. FC Köln but spent his finest years as a midfielder with FC Barcelona, Real Madrid CF and Club Atlético de Madrid. He retired in 1997 with winners' medals from three Liga titles, six Spanish Cups, the 1981/82 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup and the 1980 UEFA European Championship.

• He returned to Real Madrid as coach in 2007, leading them to the title but resigning later the same year.

• Schuster played against Porto for Barcelona in a 1985/86 European Champion Clubs' Cup second round tie. He scored in his side's 2-0 home victory, with the Spanish team progressing on away goals despite a 3-1 loss in Portugal. They went on to reach the final where they lost to FC Steaua Bucureşti on penalties.

• Porto coach André Villas-Boas started his career as a teenager in the club's scouting department, and was on José Mourinho's staff as one of his assistants by the time the Dragons won the 2003/04 UEFA Champions League. He followed the 'Special One' to Chelsea and then FC Internazionale Milano, before going it alone as coach of A. Académica de Coimbra last season. Porto hired him in June.