Napoli face Farioli's Porto, two-time European champions, at the Dragão

Napoli travel to Portugal for a Champions League game on Wednesday 4 November, still smarting from defeat to Juventus in Turin. Waiting for them is a club with a heavy European history and an Italian head coach, Francesco Farioli.

by Gennaro SanninoMonday 2 November, 10:24 CET· yesterday

Métros de Porto (Portugal) — Foto: Alain GAVILLET from Chêne-Bougeries, Suisse · CC BY 2.0

Porto are one of the 'big three' of Portuguese football, alongside Benfica and Sporting Lisbon. Kick-off at the Dragão is 21:00 CET (20:00 UK, 15:00 ET) on Wednesday 4 November.

The club was born in 1893 and officially refounded on 2 August 1906. They have 31 Primeira Liga (Portugal's top flight) titles and 20 domestic cups. Only Benfica have won more domestic trophies in Portugal. No Portuguese side has more international trophies than Porto's seven. Their historic rival is Benfica, and the fixture between them is known in Portugal as O Clássico. Napoli are not facing an unknown quantity. This is a club used to nights like this.

The coach and the club

Francesco Farioli, an Italian, is the head coach. The president is André Villas-Boas.

Porto are a prestigious opponent with a record to match. They won the European Cup in 1986-87 and the Champions League in 2003-04. In 2002-03 and 2010-11 they won the league, the domestic cup and a UEFA trophy in the same season, something no other Portuguese club has managed. That is history rather than form, but it tells you what kind of club Napoli are playing.

The danger

We will not name a Porto player just to fill space. The facts that matter here are about the club. Porto are the only Portuguese side to win the top flight without losing a game, and they have done it twice, in 2010-11 and 2012-13. In 2010-11 they finished 21 points clear of second place, the widest margin in the Portuguese league since a win became worth three points. That is the mentality of a club built on consistency, and it counts against a Napoli side still looking for answers.

Then there is the ground. Porto have played at the 52,000-seat Dragão since 2003, after 51 years at the Antas. Napoli arrive eighth in Serie A with 14 points from 10 games, after the defeat to Juventus. That leaves no room for excuses. In Europe the fanbase still feels it is on trial, and with good reason. Last season ended in the league phase in 30th place, and the 6-2 defeat to PSV remains the worst European loss in the club's history. This cannot be treated as just another away game.

A growing injury list

The list of absentees keeps getting longer. Buongiorno is out, with a return pencilled in for January 2027. Lobotka is out until the end of December. Badiashile has a rectus femoris injury and is expected back in December. Neres has a low-grade injury to his right thigh.

There are also doubts over Di Lorenzo, who has adductor fatigue, Olivera, who went off late on in Turin, and Milinković-Savić, who watched from the stands with mild fatigue.

Allegri will have few options and no excuses. The window is shut, and with this squad and this wage bill the fans want a team with an identity.

On Wednesday night at the Dragão, talk about the future will not be enough. Napoli need to respond to what happened in Turin. Porto have 31 league titles, two European Cups and a history that puts them among the clubs who are never just there to make up the numbers in Europe. We want to see a Napoli that plays like Napoli: a defence that holds, character on the pitch and an attitude that leaves no doubts. This is the right game to do it, and there is no later one to put it off to.