Legia seek redemption with Sporting scalp

Third place in Group F will be settled when Legia Warszawa host Sporting Clube de Portugal on matchday six.

• Third-placed Sporting hold a two-point advantage over Legia and need only avoid defeat to secure their entry into the UEFA Europa League.

• As for Jacek Magiera's bottom-placed Legia, they must beat Sporting to snatch third place – and, in the process, end their 21-year wait for a UEFA Champions League group stage victory.

Previous meetings
• Sporting overcame Legia 3-2 on aggregate when the teams faced off in the 2011/12 UEFA Europa League round of 32.

• Sporting scored late in both legs, drawing the first 2-2 in Warsaw only after an 88th-minute equaliser from substitute André Santos, then winning 1-0 in Lisbon through Matías Fernández's 84th-minute free-kick.

• The line-ups for the first game in Poland, on 16 February 2012, were:
Legia: Kuciak, Jędrzejczyk, Żewłakow, Komorowski, Wawrzyniak, Żyro, Vrdoljak, Rzeźniczak (Wolski 71), Gol, Rybus (Kosecki 61), Ljuboja (Hubník 82).
Sporting: Rui Patrício, Pereira, Onyewu, Anderson Polga, Insúa, Carrillo (Santos 74), Rinaudo, Fernández, Schaars (Pereirinha 46), Izmailov (Carriço 46), Van Wolfswinkel.

Match background

Legia
• Legia are seeking their first UEFA Champions League group stage victory since October 1995, when they beat Blackburn Rovers FC 1-0 in Warsaw through a Jerzy Podbrożny goal.

• Legia's five games in Group F have produced an unprecedented 32 goals – an average of 6.4 goals per game. At home they have lost 6-0 to Borussia Dortmund – the heaviest defeat in their European history – and held holders Real Madrid CF 3-3.

• In conceding 24 goals so far, Legia have equalled the record of FC BATE Borisov, set in 2014/15, for most goals leaked in a UEFA Champions League group stage campaign.

Sporting
• Sporting defeated Legia 2-0 in Lisbon on matchday two.

• Sporting's last away victory in the UEFA Champions League came on 9 December 2008 – a 1-0 win at FC Basel 1893 in which Adrien Silva featured as a second-half substitute. They have lost five of their six subsequent games in the competition proper.

• Jorge Jesus's men remain without a point from their travels in this season's competition following narrow defeats at Madrid (1-2) and Dortmund (0-1).

Coach and player links
• Jesus's first European game as a coach, in July 1998, was a 1-1 draw for CF Estrela da Amadora at Polish club Ruch Chorzów in the 1998 UEFA Intertoto Cup. His Estrela side also drew the home leg 1-1 before edging the tie 4-2 on penalties.

• Michał Pazdan and substitute Tomasz Jodłowiec were in the Poland side ousted on penalties by the Portugal of Rui Patrício, William Carvalho and Adrien Silva in the UEFA EURO 2016 quarter-finals.

• Nemanja Nikolić scored past Rui Patrício for Videoton FC in a 3-0 victory over Sporting in the 2012/13 UEFA Europa League group stage. Nikolić was subsequently on the receiving end of a 2-1 defeat in the return fixture at the José Alvalade.

• During a loan spell at Gil Vicente FC in 2011/12, Guilherme suffered a 6-1 league thrashing at Sporting but later prevailed 1-0 at the Alvalade in the Portuguese Cup.

• Guilherme and João Pereira were both at SC Braga in 2009/10 but never started a first-team match together.

Match facts

Legia
• Sebastian Szymański is suspended; Bartosz Bereszyński and Guilherme are a booking away from a ban. 

• Legia have scored four goals in three of their last four fixtures.

• Aleksandar Prijovic has five goals in his past four appearances in all competitions.

• The 8-4 loss to Dortmund on matchday five is Legia's only defeat in their last eight games, five of them wins.

Sporting
• Gonçalo Vieira and João Pereira are suspended, while Joel Campbell and Marvin Zeegelaar will incur a ban with their next booking. 

• Alan Ruiz scored his first goal for Sporting as the Lions defeated FC Arouca 1-0 on 30 November in their Portuguese League Cup group stage opener.

• Luc Castaignos came off the bench during the second half against Arouca but left the field before full time with a knee problem.

• Rúben Semedo was sent off seven minutes from time as Sporting triumphed 1-0 at Boavista FC on 26 November, Bas Dost with the winner.

• Ezequiel Schelotto was ruled out for four weeks after limping off against Boavista with a left calf injury.

Chapecoense commemoration
Teams taking part in all of the matchday six UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League matches will observe a minute's silence to pay respect to the victims of last week's air disaster involving the Chapecoense team and accompanying delegation. The Brazilian club lost most of their players and coaching staff in the accident, which occurred in Colombia, where Chapecoense were due to play the first leg of the Copa Sudamericana final against Atlético Nacional.

"European football is united in expressing its deepest sympathy to Chapecoense, the Brazilian Football Confederation [CBF], CONMEBOL and the families of all the victims," said UEFA President Aleksander Čeferin. "This tragedy has shaken the world of football, and we would like to send our support to all of those affected by it."