Schalke v Sporting background

FC Schalke 04 and Sporting Clube de Portugal will both be looking to put their first victories on the board in Group G when they meet on matchday three.

Match background

Schalke
• A week after drawing 1-1 at home to NK Maribor on matchday two, Schalke appointed Roberto Di Matteo as their new coach following the departure of Jens Keller.

• It is Di Matteo's first role since leaving Chelsea FC in November 2012. That came just six months after he had led the west London club to UEFA Champions League glory with a penalty shoot-out victory over FC Bayern München in the German side's own stadium.

• The Königsblauen drew 1-1 at Chelsea on matchday one; in both opening fixtures, Klaas-Jan Huntelaar has scored equalising goals.

• Schalke won two of their group home matches last season and lost the other. They have won nine of their last 19 European home games, with five draws and five defeats.

• Schalke have met Portuguese opponents in UEFA competition on four occasions and have always come out on top.

• They faced SL Benfica in the 2010/11 group stage, winning 2-0 at home with Jefferson Farfán and Huntelaar on target late on. In Lisbon, a goal from Benedikt Höwedes helped secure a 2-1 success.

• Their three previous meetings had all been knockout ties, Schalke winning 4-1 on penalties against FC Porto in the 2007/08 UEFA Champions League round of 16 after both legs ended 1-0 in favour of the home side.

• Porto were also Schalke's first opponents from Portugal. In the 1976/77 UEFA Cup first round, they won 3-2 at home to edge through 5-4 on aggregate. Against SC Braga in the third round of the same competition in 1997/98, Schalke won 2-0 in Gelsenkirchen having first earned a goalless draw away.

• The Bundesliga side are appearing in their seventh UEFA Champions League group stage, having reached the knockout rounds in each of the last four. They were eliminated in last season's round of 16 by eventual winners Real Madrid CF, losing 3-1 away and 9-2 on aggregate.

Sporting
• Sporting's 1-0 win over Hertha BSC Berlin in the 2009/10 UEFA Europa League group stage ended a 16-match wait for success against German opponents.

• They subsequently lost the away game in Berlin, also 1-0, and have avoided defeat only once in nine trips to Germany, drawing 0-0 at FC Bayern München in the UEFA Champions League group stage on 31 October 2006.

• This is the Lisbon club's sixth group stage campaign and their first since 2008/09, when they reached the last 16 for the first time.

• Sporting were denied by NK Maribor's equaliser in added time on matchday one; two weeks later they lost 1-0 at home to Chelsea FC.

Coach and player links
• Sporting's Cédric was born in Gelsenkirchen but has never played for the Royal Blues, or in Germany.

• Nani's Manchester United FC beat Schalke in the 2010/11 semi-final, winning 2-0 in Germany and 4-1 at home. They lost the final 3-1 against FC Barcelona at Wembley.

• Schalke's Kevin-Prince Boateng scored in Ghana's 2-1 defeat against Rami Rabia's Egypt in the second leg of a 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification play-off on 19 November 2013.

• Atsuto Uchida and Junya Tanaka are team-mates for Japan; André Carrilo and Farfán play together for Peru.

• Diego Capel scored in Sevilla FC's 4-2 Liga defeat against Huntelaar's Real Madrid CF on 26 April 2009. 

Match facts

Schalke
• Boateng is a booking away from a suspension after picking up yellow cards on matchdays one and two.

• Schalke dismissed Keller on 7 October following a 2-1 defeat at TSG 1899 Hoffenheim in which Joel Matip was sent off.

• Di Matteo's first match at the helm ended in victory, 2-0 against Hertha on Saturday. Huntelaar opened the scoring, his fourth goal in five outings for club and country.

• Jan Kirchhoff, who sustained a knee injury in the 1-1 draw against FC Bayern München on 30 August, made his return as a late substitute versus Hertha. Höwedes, who had been out with a hip problem since the 4-1 defeat by VfL Borussia Mönchengladbach on 13 September, started the game.

• Sidney Sam (muscular problems) and Leon Goretzka (hamstring) have resumed light training.

• Fabian Giefer (adductors), Sead Kolašinac (knee), Felipe Santana (adductors) and Farfán (knee) are long-term absentees.

Sporting
• Maurício is a booking away from a suspension after picking up yellow cards on matchdays one and two.

• Sporting progressed to the Portuguese Cup fourth round on Saturday, inflicting Porto's first loss in 12 games this term with a 3-1 victory at the Estádio do Dragão.

• Rui Patrício saved a penalty from Jackson Martínez with the score 2-1. Maurício, having suffered concussion against Chelsea on matchday two, returned to the side.

 • Islam Slimani scored twice against FC Penafiel on 4 October as Sporting recorded their second 4-0 away win in three Liga games.

• Fredy Montero added the Lions' third goal against Penafiel – his first in any competition since 8 December 2013.

• Rami Rabia, yet to appear for Sporting's first team this season, has recovered from an abdominal injury.

• Slimani set up the first goal and headed the third in Algeria's 3-0 home victory over Malawi on 15 October, a result that qualified the Desert Foxes for the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations.

• They will be joined at the finals by Cape Verde, who made it through after defeating Mozambique 1-0 with the aid of Héldon Ramos's 75th-minute effort.

• Oliveira, Ricardo Esgaio, Iuri Medeiros and Carlos Mané featured in both legs of Portugal's 7-4 aggregate triumph over the Netherlands in the 2015 UEFA European Under-21 Championship play-offs.

• Mané, a 61st-minute substitute, doubled Portugal's lead in their 2-0 first-leg win in Alkmaar.

• João Mário and Cédric made their senior international debuts in Portugal's 2-1 friendly loss to France on 11 October. Mário drew the foul that led to Ricardo Quaresma halving the visitors' arrears from the penalty spot.