Sporting need to get back on track against Juventus

Sporting Clube de Portugal started Group D positively but have lost their last two fixtures and another defeat at the hands of Juventus could prove terminal to their prospects.

• The Portuguese side are third in the standings on three points, three behind their opponents and six adrift of leaders FC Barcelona. Sporting will be unable to finish in the top two if they lose and Barcelona avoid defeat at bottom club Olympiacos FC, who have lost all three games to date.

• Juventus have recovered from losing their first fixture to win the last two, most recently a 2-1 triumph at home to Sporting. Juventus are through with a win if Barcelona avoid defeat in Greece.

Match background

Sporting
• Prior to matchday three, Sporting had not played an Italian team for six years, since two contests against SS Lazio in the 2011/12 UEFA Europa League group stage (2-1 home, 0-2 away).

• That win in Lisbon means Sporting's record at home to Italian sides now reads W4 D7 L2. Overall it is W5 D10 L13.

• Sporting are unbeaten in their last four games at home to Serie A visitors (W2 D2).

• Beaten 1-0 by Barcelona in their most recent home fixture, Sporting were 3-2 winners at Olympiacos on matchday one. It was their first away win in the competition proper since a 1-0 victory at FC Basel 1893 on 9 December 2008; their subsequent record had been D1 L6, including three losses in last season's group stage.

• The Lisbon club have lost four of their last six European home games, winning one.

• The Portuguese team were 5-1 aggregate winners against Romania's FCSB in the play-offs, following up a 0-0 home draw with a 5-1 success in Bucharest. That victory in Romania ended Sporting's four-game losing streak in European away matches.

• Sporting are in the group stage for a third time in four seasons. In 2016/17, they came fourth in their group behind Borussia Dortmund, Real Madrid CF and Legia Warszawa.

• Sporting qualified by finishing third in the Portuguese Liga in 2016/17.

Juventus
• Juventus's 14 encounters with Portuguese sides have ended W8 D2 L4; away it is W2 D1 L3. All four of those defeats came against SL Benfica.

• Juventus got the better of Portuguese opposition in last season's round of 16, beating FC Porto 3-0 over two legs (2-0 away, 1-0 home).

• Juve lost last season's final 4-1 to Real Madrid CF in Cardiff. They were also beaten 3-0 by FC Barcelona on matchday one, the first time since the 2014/15 group stage they had lost successive European games; by beating Olympiacos they avoided suffering three straight defeats in Europe for the first time since 1993/94.

• The 0-0 draw at Barcelona in last season's quarter-final second leg was the only one of Juve's six away matches in 2016/17 that they failed to win, with five clean sheets and just one goal conceded to 12 scored. Defeat at Camp Nou on matchday one ended a six-game unbeaten away run in Europe.

• This is an 18th UEFA Champions League group stage campaign for Juve, and a sixth in succession.

• The Italian outfit have reached the knockout rounds in their last three attempts, having finished third in their section in 2013/14.

Coach and player links
• Jorge Jesus guided Benfica to victory against Juve in the 2013/14 UEFA Europa League semi-finals (2-1 home, 0-0 away).

• Jesus's only other match against an Italian side was a 1-0 defeat by AC Milan in the 2008/09 UEFA Cup group stage when he was coaching SC Braga.

• Jérémy Mathieu was in the Barcelona team beaten 3-0 at Juventus in last season's quarter-final first leg. He had come on as a substitute in the 3-1 victory in the 2015 UEFA Champions League final.

• Alex Sandro played in Portugal for Porto between 2011 and 2015; his record against Sporting was W4 D3 L1.

• Rui Patrício and William Carvalho were in the Portugal side that beat Blaise Matuidi's France 1-0 in the UEFA EURO 2016 final.

• Rui Patrício and William Carvalho also got the better of Marko Piaca and Mario Mandžukić in Portugal's 1-0 last-16 defeat of Croatia. Wojciech Szczęsny was an unused substitute as Portugal beat Poland on penalties in the quarter-finals.

• Giorgio Chiellini, Andrea Barzagli and Claudio Marchisio all featured as Italy beat Sebastiano Coates's Uruguay in a friendly on 7 June.

• Stephan Lichtsteiner, who is not part of Juve's UEFA Champions League squad, was in the Switzerland team that beat Portugal 2-0 in a 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifier on 6 September 2016; Rui Patrício and William Carvalho played for the visitors.

• Benedikt Höwedes scored in FC Schalke 04's 4-3 home win against Sporting in the 2014/15 UEFA Champions League group stage, and also appeared in the 4-2 defeat in Lisbon.

• Have played in Italy:
Cristiano Piccini (ACF Fiorentina 2010/11, Carrarese Calcio 2011/12, Spezia Calcio 2012/13, AS Livorno Calcio 2013/14)
Seydou Doumbia (AS Roma 2014/15)
Bruno Fernandes (Novara 2012/13, Udinese Calcio 2013–16, UC Sampdoria 2016/17)
Stefan Ristovski (Parma FC 2010–15, FC Crotone 2011/12, Frosinone Calcio 2012, AS Bari 2012/13, US Latina Calcio 2013/14, 2015)

• Have played together:
Seydou Doumbia & Miralem Pjanić (Roma 2014/15)
Sami Khedira & Fábio Coentrão (Real Madrid 2011–15) Gonzalo Higuaín (2011–13)
Rodrigo Bentancur & Jonathan Silva (CA Boca Juniors 2016/17)
Bruno César & Douglas Costa (Grêmio FBPA 2008)

• International team-mates:
Jérémy Mathieu & Blaise Matuidi (France)
Marcos Acuña & Paulo Dybala, Gonzalo Higuaín (Argentina)

Match facts

Sporting 
• Sebastián Coates and Bruno Fernandes are a booking away from a ban.

• The UEFA Champions League defeats by Barcelona and Juventus are Sporting's only losses in 17 games this season.

• Sporting have won only three of their last eight matches in all competitions (D3 L2).

• Sporting beat GD Chaves 5-1 in the Liga on 22 October. The goal conceded was only the second against them at home in the Liga this season and the third in eight home matches in all competitions.

• This was the third time Sporting had scored five goals in a match this season, but the first time at home. It was also their biggest home victory in all competitions since November 2016.

• Bas Dost scored a hat-trick against Chaves, ending a sequence of six games without scoring – his worst drought since arriving at the club in August 2016. The Dutch striker managed three hat-tricks and a poker last season.

• Acuña scored twice against Chaves, his first goals in the Liga since joining from Argentinian side Racing Club de Avellaneda in the summer.

• Dost struck again as Sporting won 1-0 at Rio Ave FC on Friday night in the Liga.

• Bruno Fernandes scored six goals in his first nine matches for Sporting, but has failed to find the net in six games since.

Juventus 
• Juventus followed up their victory against Sporting by scoring ten goals in two games, winning 6-2 at Udinese – despite playing with ten men from the 26th minute when Mandžukić was sent off – and beating SPAL 4-1.

• Sami Khedira struck his first career hat-trick against Udinese while Pjanić found the net for the second consecutive game since returning from a thigh injury. Daniele Rugani scored his first goal of the season.

• Juventus scored six goals in an away game for the first time since November 2012, when they won 6-1 at Pescara Calcio. They had not scored more than five in a Serie A game since the 7-0 win against Parma in November 2014.

• Against SPAL, Dybala scored his 11th goal in ten (now 11) Serie A games this season with a wonderful free-kick.

• Szczęsny conceded the first goal of his Juventus career against SPAL, after keeping a clean sheet in his first two games with the Bianconeri.

• On Saturday, Juventus won 2-0 at AC Milan with Higuaín scoring his 100th and 101st career Serie A goals.

• Mattia De Sciglio (out since 12 September, leg) was an unused substitute against SPAL and Milan, while Marchisio (late August, knee) was a second-half substitute in the first of those games.

• Matuidi has not played since suffering a thigh injury on the eve of the game against Udinese while Medhi Benatia has not featured since suffering an ankle injury against Sporting.

• Höwedes is yet to make his Juventus debut after joining the club late in the summer transfer window and then suffering a thigh injury in training.

• Buffon came fourth, picking up 6.82% of the vote, and Dybala 12th when the Best FIFA Men's Player 2017 award was announced on 23 October.

• Buffon did, however, win the Best FIFA Goalkeeper award with 42.42% of the vote while Massimiliano Allegri (8.78%) finished in third place when the Best FIFA Men's Coach award was announced.

• Buffon and Dybala are on the 30-man shortlist for the Ballon d'Or. The winner will be announced on 6 December.