Sporting CP seek to finish off Olympiacos

Sporting Clube de Portugal welcome Olympiacos FC to Lisbon knowing that a point will prolong their European season.

• The Portuguese side, who won 3-2 in Piraeus on matchday one, have four points to lie third in Group D, with FC Barcelona top on ten points, three ahead of Juventus. Sporting will remain in contention if they win but will be unable to be finish in the top two if they lose, or if they draw and Juve do not lose at home to Barça. A draw clinches at least third place for Sporting.

• Olympiacos have picked up just one point from their four games so far and must win and hope Juventus lose to stay in contention for a top-two finish. If Olympiacos do not win they will finish fourth.

Match background

Sporting CP
• Sporting's only experience of Greek opposition prior to matchday one was a 4-1 home win against Panionios GSS in the 2004/05 UEFA Cup group stage.

• The Lisbon club have won only one of their last seven European home games, losing four. In Group D they were beaten 1-0 by Barcelona on matchday two before a 1-1 draw against Juventus in their most recent fixture.

• 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 section behind Borussia Dortmund, Real Madrid CF and Legia Warszawa.

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

Olympiacos
• The Greek outfit won on their last visit to Portugal, recording a 1-0 victory at FC Arouca in last season's UEFA Europa League play-offs – their first success in the country. They are unbeaten in their last two trips (W1 D1); overall, their record away to Portuguese clubs is W1 D2 L4.

• Olympiacos succumbed 2-0 at Juventus on matchday two and went down 3-1 at Barcelona in their third fixture but have won three of their last six European away games, including the first two this season. In their last UEFA Champions League group campaign, in 2015/16, they won two of their three away fixtures.

• Olympiacos opened this season with a 5-3 aggregate success over FK Partizan in the third qualifying round (3-1 away, 2-2 home). They then got the better of HNK Rijeka in the play-offs, coming through 2-1 at home and 1-0 away.

• Olympiacos are in the group stage for an 18th time. They lost to Hapoel Beer-Sheva FC in last season's third qualifying round, the first time they had missed out on the UEFA Champions League group stage since 2010/11.

• In 2016/17, the Greek side went on to make the UEFA Europa League round of 16, falling 5-2 on aggregate to Beşiktaş JK.

• The Piraeus club earned a place in this season's qualifying rounds by lifting their 44th Greek championship in 2016/17 – their seventh in a row.

Coach and player links
• Has played in Greece:
André Pinto (Panathinaikos FC, 2012/13)

• Have played in Portugal:
Diogo Figueiras (CD Pinhalnovense 2010/11, Paços Ferreira, 2011–13, Moreirense FC 2012)
Sebá (FC Porto 2012/13, GD Estoril Praia 2013–15)
Felipe Pardo (SC Braga 2013–15)
Mehdi Carcela-González (SL Benfica, 2015/16)

• Pardo faced Sporting five times while at Braga, losing four and also tasting defeat in the last as Braga lost the 2015 Portugual Cup final on penalties after a 2-2 draw.

• Have played together:
Bruno César & Sebá (Estoril, 2015)
André Pinto & Felipe Pardo (Braga, 2014–15)
André Pinto & Rodrigo Battaglia (Braga, 2013/14)
André Pinto & Stefano Kapino (Panathinaikos, 2012/13)
Radosav Petrović & Jagoš Vuković (Serbia)

Match facts

Sporting CP
• Sebastián Coates serves a suspension on matchday five. Marcos Acuña and Bruno Fernandes are both a booking away from a ban.

• A penalty by Bruno Fernandes – his seventh goal of the season in all competitions – in injury time saved the Lions from a first league defeat as they drew 2-2 at home to SC Braga on 5 November.

• Sporting have won only two of their last seven games at home in all competitions (D4 L1).

• Sporting have won only four of their last 11 games in all competitions (D5 L2), having started the season with eight wins in nine matches.

• Sporting have scored 15 goals in 11 home games in all competitions this season; away from home they have 25 goals in nine matches.

• Bas Dost has scored five goals in his last three league games and was also on target in Thursday's 2-0 Portuguese Cup round of 32 win against second-tier FC Famalicão.

• Dost and Acuña were both substituted due to injury in the match against Braga. Dost started and scored on Thursday versus Famalicão but Acuña has been ruled out for the rest of the month with a thigh injury.

• Jérémy Mathieu, William Carvalho and Cristiano Piccini have not played since the match against Rio Ave FC on 27 October due to injury, though Fábio Coentrão made his first appearance since then against Famalicão.

• Alan Ruiz returned from injury while Stefan Ristovski made his league debut against Braga.

• Bruno Fernandes came off the bench to make his debut for Portugal in the 3-0 friendly defeat of Saudi Arabia on 10 November. He was in the starting XI for the first time, alongside club colleague Gelson Martins, four days later in the 1-1 draw against the United States.

Olympiacos
• Omar Elabdellaoui, Alaixys Romao and Diogo Figueiras are all a booking away from a ban.

• Olympiacos have lost four of their last six games away from home, conceding 12 goals.

• Felipe Pardo has scored three goals in his past three outings, including one six minutes into his first start for Colombia in a 4-0 victory over China on 14 November. He won his second and third caps this month, two years after his debut.

• Sebá underwent arthroscopy surgery on his knee on 21 October but both he and Alberto Botía, who suffered a minor knock on his foot before the international break, took part in Saturday's 2-1 defeat of Levadiakos FC.

• Kostas Fortounis and Panagiotis Tachtsidis featured in both legs as Greece lost 4-1 to Croatia in the FIFA World Cup play-offs.

• El Fardou Ben Nabouhane has not played since suffering a hip problem on 1 October.

• Emmanuel Emenike spent a week in Bologna during the international break, receiving treatment on a knee injury that has hampered him for the past month.