Sporting Cp will be hosting Juventus at Estadio Jose Alvalade on Tuesday night in a Group D Champions League match. The hosts know too well that a victory over the Italian giants could see Jorge Jesus's men climb to the second position in the group. The Lions of Portugal head into the at the backdrop of winning two successive league matches. The first one was the 4-1 beating they handed Chaves. Sporting CP was fortunate to defeat Rio Ave 1-0, with the late winner coming from the Dutch attacker, Bas Dost in the eighty-fifth minute.
Juventus were last season's runners-up after losing 4-1 to Real Madrid in the final that was staged at Cardiff Stadium in Wales.
The Old Ladies find themselves in a precarious position especially in their group opening match 3-0 against group leader, Barcelona. Should the Italian giants lose the game, Sporting CP could get a lifeline to progress to knockout stages at the expense of the Turin club. Juventus travel to Portugal after a brace from Higuain Gonzalo handed the Massimo Allegri side a 2-0 success over AC Milan at San Siro over the weekend.
Talking points
- Sporting CP has won the Portugal's Primeira Liga 22 times. The Lions have gone 15 years without winning the domestic title with Porto and Benfica dominating the proceedings.
- Sporting CP doesn't have any history in the Champions League, but the club managed to win the European Cup Winner's Cup in 1963/64. Porto is the only Portuguese side that has won the Champions League (two times), but Benfica has been the competition's runners-up on four occasions
- Juventus has won Champions League twice, but the Old Ladies have been unlucky on seven occasions only to reach the finals and fail to win the title. In fact, the Italian giants have lost two finals to Spanish clubs in the last three seasons.
- The two sides have each scored four goals in the three group matches played so far. However, Juventus has one more game than their Tuesday night opponents. Interestingly, two of the four goals Sporting CP has scored are own goals.
- If Barcelona beats Olympiakos and Juventus lose to Sporting CP, then the Spanish team would most likely finish as group winners. In such a scenario, each of the remaining three clubs would have a mathematical chance to finish as group runners-up.
Team news
Sebastian Coates will serve a one-match ban after receiving a yellow card in consecutive matches.
Seydou Doumbia who missed the trip to Italy in the 2-1 defeat in Turin returned to the team and played in the closing minutes in the 1-0 victory over Aves. With only Coates missing, Jorge Jesus is expected to field a strong side that can overcome Juventus.
Benedikt Hoewedes, Medhi Benatia, and Marko Pjaca played no part in the 2-0 win over AC Milan as the three players were sidelined with injuries.
Massimo Allegri's side has no suspension will have the rest of his players to choose from as his team seeks for glory in Portugal to exert pressure on Barcelona.
Full-time prediction: Sporting CP 1-3 Juventus
