Champions League Official Live football scores & Fantasy
Get
UEFA.com works better on other browsers
For the best possible experience, we recommend using Chrome, Firefox or Microsoft Edge.

Leipzig vs Sporting CP facts

Previous meetings, form guides, links and trivia ahead of the UEFA Champions League league phase Matchday 7 fixture.

Leipzig's Antonio Nusa in action against Aston Villa
Leipzig's Antonio Nusa in action against Aston Villa Getty Images

Leipzig's last home UEFA Champions League game of the season pits them against Sporting CP on Matchday 7.

The German side, whose European elimination was confirmed on Matchday 6 when they lost 2-3 at home to Aston Villa, are one of three sides still without a point in the league phase.

Sporting have ten points but have lost their last two games – going down 2-1 at Club Brugge last time out – and are again under new management for this fixture. Rui Borges was appointed their third coach of the season on 26 December, replacing João Pereira who had himself succeeded the Manchester United-bound Ruben Amorim on 11 November.

This is the teams' first fixture, and only Leipzig's fifth against a Portuguese club.

Form guide

Leipzig

Record vs Portuguese clubs: W2 D1 L1 F8 A8
Home record vs Portuguese clubs: W1 D1 L0

All four of Leipzig's previous fixtures against Portuguese opponents came in the Champions League group stage. They claimed their first-ever European victory with a 3-2 home defeat of Porto on Matchday 3 in 2017/18 – Willi Orbán opening the scoring – before a 3-1 away defeat; two seasons later they were 2-1 Matchday 1 victors at Sporting's Lisbon rivals Benfica, drawing 2-2 at home on Matchday 5.

This is Leipzig's seventh campaign in the Champions League, all since 2017/18, and a sixth in a row.

Semi-finalists in 2019/20, the German club have reached the knockout rounds in four of their seven campaigns, including 2023/24.

Last season Marco Rose's side finished second in Group G behind Manchester City, winning their other four games, before being edged out by eventual champions Real Madrid in the round of 16 (0-1 h, 1-1 a).

Leipzig have lost five of their last seven home European matches – as many as in their previous 21 (W10 D6) – going down to Juventus (2-3), Liverpool (0-1) and Aston Villa this season.

This is only Leipzig's eighth season of European football. They became the first club to make their continental debut in the Champions League group stage in September 2017.

Rose's charges were fourth in the Bundesliga in 2023/24, Leipzig's sixth successive top-four finish and a sixth in seven years since being promoted to the German top flight for the first time in 2016.

Sporting CP

Record vs German clubs: W4 D6 L20 F27 A55
Away record vs German clubs: W1 D1 L13

Sporting were last paired with Bundesliga opponents in the 2022/23 group stage, winning 3-0 at Eintracht Frankfurt on Matchday 1 but losing 1-2 at home on Matchday 6 to bow out of the competition.

A 3-1 home win against Borussia Dortmund on Matchday 5 in 2021/22 means Sporting have two victories in their last three fixtures against German clubs, as many as they managed in their first 27.

The win at Eintracht was Sporting's first in Germany on their 15th visit and ended a run of seven successive defeats. A 0-0 draw at Bayern München in the 2006/07 group stage is the only other game away to German opposition in which Sporting avoided defeat, with 34 goals conceded in those 15 matches.

The Lions are making their 11th appearance in the Champions League proper, and a third in four seasons.

The most recent came in 2022/23, when they finished third in their section behind Tottenham and Eintracht.

Sporting have lost 12 of their last 18 away matches in the Champions League; a 2-0 win at Sturm Graz on Matchday 2 is one of only four in their last 20 away games (D4 L12).

Second in their Europa League section behind Atalanta in 2023/24, Amorim's side beat Young Boys 4-2 on aggregate in the knockout round play-offs only to again lose out to Atalanta in the round of 16 (2-3 agg).

The Matchday 6 defeat at Club Brugge was just Sporting's fourth in their last 15 away European games (W5 D6).

Sporting claimed their 20th league title – and a second in four years, having not lifted the crown between 2001/02 and 2020/21 – last season.

Links and trivia

Have played in Germany:
Jeremiah St. Juste (Mainz 2019–22)
Eduardo Quaresma (Hoffenheim 2022/23 loan)
Viktor Gyökeres (St. Pauli 2019/20 loan)

St. Juste lost three of his four games against Leipzig while playing in Germany, conceding 16 goals in those defeats.

Has played in Portugal:
André Silva (Porto 2011–17)

André Silva lost three of his four games against Sporting with Porto, winning the other.

Have played together:
Lutsharel Geertruida & Jeremiah St. Juste (Feyenoord 2017–19)
Christoph Baumgartner & Eduardo Quaresma (Hoffenheim 2022/23)
André Silva & Nuno Santos (Padroense youth 2010/11, Porto youth 2011/12)

International team-mates:
André Silva, Pedro Gonçalves & Francisco Trincão (Portugal)
André Silva & Nuno Santos (Portugal youth & Under-21)
Yussuf Poulsen & Morten Hjulmand (Denmark)
Maarten Vandevoordt, Arthur Vermeeren, Lois Openda & Zeno Debast (Belgium)

Latest news

Leipzig

Leipzig have won two games and lost two in the Bundesliga since Matchday 6. On Saturday, they let slip a three-goal half-time advantage to draw 3-3 at Bochum.

Marco Rose's side conceded five goals in their first ten league games this season with seven clean sheets; they have let in 22 in the subsequent eight, keeping one clean sheet.

Xavi Simons, who had been out since 23 October with an ankle injury, marked his comeback with two goals in a 4-2 success against Werder Bremen on 12 January.

Three days later nine-man Leipzig lost 2-1 in Stuttgart, Benjamin Šeško scoring for the fifth league game running before being dismissed in the final stages, as was Loïs Openda – the first time Leipzig had had two players sent off in a Bundesliga game.

David Raum made his 100th Bundesliga appearance in Stuttgart.

Yussuf Poulsen, who had been out with a thigh injury since mid-November, came on as a substitute on Saturday.

André Silva missed the weekend draw with a calf injury.

Benjamin Henrichs has been absent since tearing his Achilles tendon on 20 December.

Castello Lukeba (out since 30 November) and Assan Ouédraogo (26 November) and have both been sidelined by thigh injuries.

On 10 January Leipzig announced the signing of Ridle Baku from Wolfsburg on a contract until 2027.

Sporting CP

Defeat at Club Brugge on Matchday 6 made it four in a row in all competitions for Sporting; they are unbeaten in their subsequent eight matches (W5 D3), winning 3-0 at Rio Ave on Saturday.

A late substitute, Viktor Gyökeres got the final goal to make it nine in his last ten games having finished 2024 with 62 goals in 63 games for club and country, ahead of Erling Haaland (49) and Harry Kane (46).

Sporting were 2-1 winners at home to Santa Clara in the Portuguese Cup on 18 December to set up a quarter-final at Gil Vicente on 5 February.

A 0-0 Liga draw at Gil Vicente on 22 December proved João Pereira's last match as Sporting coach.

His successor Rui Borges kicked off his reign with a 1-0 win at home to Benfica in the Lisbon derby on 29 December, Geny Catamo scoring the only goal.

Sporting began 2025 with a 4-4 draw at Vitória SC on 3 January, Gyökeres scoring his fifth hat-trick of the season for club and country.

The Swedish striker also scored in both the Portuguese League Cup semi-final (1-0 vs Porto) and final (1-1 vs Benfica) on 7 and 11 January respectively, Sporting losing the latter 6-7 on penalties with Francisco Trincão the only player from either side to miss in the shoot-out.

On 16 December Gyökeres was named Sweden's Player of the Year; Morten Hjulmand took the Danish award on 5 January.

Gonçalo Inácio played 90 minutes at Rio Ave having been out since picking up an injury in the warm-up at Club Brugge on 10 December.

Daniel Bragança came on on Saturday, his first appearance since suffering a calf injury on 5 December.

Hidemasa Morita was out between 5 and 29 December with a muscle problem and has not played since 7 January due to another muscular problem, although he was an unused substitute at Rio Ave.

Nuno Santos (out since 26 October, knee) and Pedro Gonçalves (10 November, thigh) have both been sidelined.

Matheus Reis was taken off with a thigh injury after 14 minutes against Porto and has not played since.

On 14 January Sporting signed goalkeeper Rui Silva on a deal until 2028.