Porto manager Francesco Farioli has warned his team they must be at their peak to overcome a resurgent Nottingham Forest side, as former Dragons boss Vitor Pereira prepares to face his old club in the Europa League quarter-final.

The two sides meet at the Estadio Do Dragao on Thursday for the first leg of their continental showdown. Although Porto remain unbeaten at home in this season's Europa League—winning all five of their games on home soil—they face a Forest team on an upward trajectory under their new Portuguese manager.

Formerly in charge of Porto from 2011 to 2013, Vitor Pereira led the club to four major domestic titles during his tenure and averaged an impressive 2.27 points per game across 93 matches. His emotional return comes after guiding Forest to a 3-0 victory at Tottenham, their first Premier League win under his management, just before the international break.

Meanwhile, Forest also defeated Porto 2-0 in the reverse fixture at the City Ground, with goals from Morgan Gibbs-White and Igor Jesus coming via penalty. That result under Sean Dyche—a transitional appointment before Pereira’s arrival—showed Forest's growing resilience against elite European opposition.

Farioli stressed the danger posed by both Forest’s coaching leadership and improving squad: “[Pereira] did important things at Porto, and he will prepare Nottingham to be at their best,” Farioli said. “We will have to be at our best to compete. They have quality in their coach and their squad. They have been on the up since Vitor's arrival. And of course, all these elements will force us to give our best on the field.”

Pereira is only the second Portuguese manager to face his former Porto club in Europe, following in the footsteps of Domingos Paciência, whose Braga side lost 1-0 in 2011. Despite Porto’s strong home record—equal with Aston Villa and Freiburg as one of three teams with perfect home campaigns so far—they enter the match on shaky form, having drawn 2-2 with Famalicão in their first game after the international hiatus. That result allowed Sporting CP to close the gap in the Primeira Liga title race.

Although Porto are participating in their 18th European quarter-final (first since 2020-21), they have been eliminated in each of their past four such ties, dating back to their 2010-11 Europa League triumph. Despite this, Farioli remains focused and optimistic: “At the moment, the level of motivation is high. It's a privilege to play in the Europa League quarter-finals against an opponent like this,” he added. “We are where we should be in terms of level of performance and commitment, will to win and ability to advance in the competition.”