Lisbon duel gives Basel shot at revenge

FC Basel 1893 should not be short of motivation when they visit Group C rivals Sporting Clube de Portugal on Matchday 2. Besides the need to bounce back from an opening defeat by FC Shakhtar Donetsk, the Swiss champions will also be seeking revenge for their UEFA Cup elimination by their Portuguese hosts last season.

• Sporting are pursuing their first points of the campaign too after losing at FC Barcelona and it is fair to assume they would settle happily for a repeat of the 2-0 success they enjoyed against Basel when the sides last met in Lisbon in February.

• Two Simon Vukčević strikes (8, 58) earned Sporting a two-goal advantage in the first leg of the clubs' UEFA Cup Round of 32 tie – and Paulo Bento's team completed the job in handsome fashion by winning 3-0 in Switzerland on 23 February through goals from Bruno Pereirinha (2) and Liedson (41, 51) to secure a 5-0 aggregate victory.

• The full lineups for the first-leg meeting at the Estádio José Avalade on 13 February were:
Sporting: Rui Patrício, Abel, Tonel, Anderson Polga, Leandro Grimi, Marat Izmailov (Bruno Pereirinha), Leandro Romagnoli, Miguel Veloso, João Moutinho, Simon Vukčević (Rodrigo Tiuí), Liedson.
Basel: Franco Costanzo (Louis Crayton), Papa Malick Ba, Daniel Majstorovic, François Marque, Ronny Hodel, Benjamin Huggel, David Degen (Cabral), Ivan Ergić, Carlitos, Eduardo, Eren Derdiyok.

• Sporting, who went on to reach the quarter-finals of the UEFA Cup last term, will feel they must take something from their rematch with Basel if they are to progress from Group C following a 3-1 reverse at Barcelona on Matchday 1.

• The Portuguese side fell behind to a Rafael Márquez effort (21) and Samuel Eto'o's penalty (60) and although Tonel narrowed the deficit after 72 minutes, Xavi Hernández (87) confirmed Barcelona's victory.

• Basel suffered a 2-1 loss at home to Shakhtar on the same night, David Abraham's added-time effort offering scant consolation after Fernandinho (25) and Jadson (45+1) had struck for the visitors.

• Christian Gross' team may take heart from the fact they have bettered Portuguese opposition once already this season, having defeated Vitória SC 2-1 on aggregate in the third qualifying round.

• After holding Guimarães to a goalless draw in Portugal the Swiss side prevailed in the home return, Eren Derdiyok getting a 54th-minute winner after Valentin Stocker's strike (11) had been cancelled out by Fajardo's penalty (15).

• Curiously Basel had never faced Portuguese opposition before this year but are now preparing for their fifth tie against a Liga side in the space of seven months.

• Sporting have played eight games against Swiss sides, winning four, drawing two and losing two. On Portuguese soil, they have won two, drawn one and lost one.

• Sporting had mixed results at home in last season's group stage, taking four points from matches against Manchester United FC (0-1), AS Roma (2-2) and FC Dynamo Kyiv (2-0).

• Basel's away record in the UEFA Cup last term was W2 D2 L1.

• In their most recent UEFA Champions League campaign in 2002/03, Basel recorded one victory in six away matches over the first and second group stages – a 2-0 success at FC Spartak Moskva. They lost heavily at Valencia CF (6-2) and Juventus (4-0) and also slipped to defeat at RC Deportivo La Coruña (1-0) yet achieved notable draws at Liverpool FC (1-1) and Manchester United FC (1-1).

• Sporting coach Bento made his European debut as a player for CF Estrela da Amadora against Swiss opposition in the shape of Neuchâtel Xamax FC. After both legs of that 1990/91 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup first-round tie ended in 1-1 draws, Bento took his side's fourth spot-kick in the deciding penalty shoot-out and it proved the winner as Xamax players missed either side of him to give Estrela a 4-3 success.

• Basel striker Derdiyok was in the Switzerland side that defeated Portugal in a UEFA EURO 2008™ Group A match on 15 June. Sporting's Hélder Postiga and Miguel Veloso were in Portugal's starting lineup and João Moutinho appeared as a second-half substitute.

• Sporting midfielder Fábio Rochemback was in the Middlesbrough FC team that got the better of Basel in a dramatic UEFA Cup quarter-final tie in 2005/06. Basel led 2-0 after the first leg and then scored another goal in the return at Middlesbrough but the English side fought back to win 4-1 on the night, 4-3 on aggregate.

• Basel boast Portuguese talent in the form of winger Carlitos, who was born in Lisbon and played eleven league games for Sporting's local rivals SL Benfica between 2004 and 2007. The former GD Estoril Praia player spent time on loan with Guimarães and Swiss side FC Sion before joining Basel in summer 2007.

• Shakhtar face Barcelona in the section's other fixture on Matchday 2.