Dutch double would suit Sporting

Sporting Clube de Portugal are within a point of a place in the UEFA Europa League knockout phase, but SC Heerenveen can take heart from previous results at the José Alvalade Stadium.

• A draw would be enough for Sporting and their new coach Carlos Carvalhal to qualify for the round of 32. For their part, Heerenveen will be eliminated if they lose and Hertha BSC Berlin beat FK Ventspils in the night's other Group D game, due to the German side's superior head-to-head record.

Previous meetings
• Sporting won 3-2 in the Netherlands when the clubs met for the first time on Matchday 1. The Portuguese outfit have never lost at home against Dutch opponents, recording six wins and – most recently – a draw in seven fixtures.

• Heerenveen's three previous games in Portugal resulted in a victory, a draw and a defeat. This is their third outing at the José Alvalade, having previously beaten Vitória FC 3-0 at the arena in the 2006/07 UEFA Cup first round, and drawn 1-1 with the same opponents in the same round of the 2008/09 edition.

Match background
• Sporting have tasted victory in just one of their last six European home fixtures, beating Hertha 1-0 on Matchday 2. That run also includes three draws and two reverses.

• Sporting overcame Heerenveen's domestic rivals FC Twente on away goals in the third qualifying round of this season's UEFA Champions League, drawing 0-0 in Lisbon and 1-1 in Enschede.

• Heerenveen have not triumphed in a European match at home all season but are yet to lose away, recording two draws and – on Matchday 3 – a 1-0 success at Hertha.

• That win in Berlin ended an eight-game wait for an away victory, which stretched back to their victory over Setúbal at the José Alvalade in the 2006/07 UEFA Cup.

Team facts
• Sporting coach Paulo Bento resigned in the wake of the team's 1-1 stalemate with Ventspils on Matchday 4, even though that result saw the club extend their best ever unbeaten European run.

• Bento's assistant Leonel Pontes was placed in temporary command before Carvalhal took over on 16 November. The 43-year-old former defender has coached various clubs in his native Portugal including Leixões SC, Setúbal, CF Os Belenenses, SC Braga, SC Beira-Mar and CS Marítimo, winning the Portuguese League Cup in 2008 with Setúbal.

• Heerenveen won the first Dutch Cup in their history last term but Norwegian coach Trond Sollied became the first Eredivisie dismissal of the season in August following a poor start to their domestic campaign. He was replaced by erstwhile youth-team trainer Jan de Jonge, formerly a striker for FC Groningen, Heerenveen and FC Emmen.

• De Jonge will remain in charge until the winter break, when his position will be reconsidered.

• The next goal Heerenveen concede will be the 100th they have shipped in UEFA club competition. This is their 76th continental fixture.

• Real Madrid CF striker Ruud van Nistelrooy is a former Heerenveen player while Klaas Jan Huntelaar (AC Milan), Miralem Sulejmani (AFC Ajax) and Danijel Pranjić (FC Bayern München) have come through the ranks at the club in recent seasons.

• Sporting visit Hertha on Matchday 6, with Heerenveen at home against Ventspils on the same night, 16 December.