Sporting CP v Lokomotiv Moskva background
Wednesday, September 2, 2015
Article summary
Sporting CP have some unhappy memories of previous encounters with Russian sides as they welcome Lokomotiv Moskva in their UEFA Europa League Group H opener.
Article top media content
Article body
Sporting Clube de Portugal will look to put an end to a miserable run of results against Russian clubs as they welcome FC Lokomotiv Moskva in their UEFA Europa League Group H opener.
Previous meetings
• The sides are meeting for the first time in UEFA club competition.
• Sporting's record against Russian clubs is W1 D1 L5 (W1 D0 L3 at home – W0 D1 L2 in Russia). Those games include a defeat – at their home stadium – against PFC CSKA Moskva in the 2005 UEFA Cup final, and a 4-3 aggregate loss to the same side in this season's UEFA Champions League play-offs.
• The Russian side has scored three goals in five of Sporting's seven encounters with the nation's clubs.
• Lokomotiv's record against Portuguese sides is W1 D0 L3 (W1 D0 L1 at home – W0 D0 L2 in Portugal). Both of those away defeats were by 1-0 scorelines.
Form guide
• Sporting have lost just once (to Chelsea FC last season) in their last 21 European home games: W16 D4 L1.
• Sporting have never lost a UEFA Europa League (group stage to final) home game, and hold the competition record (group stage to final) of 20 successive home games without defeat.
• In five previous UEFA Cup and UEFA Europa League group stage campaigns, Sporting have only once failed to make it to the round of 32 – in their most recent campaign, in 2012/13.
• Lokomotiv have successfully navigated their way through two of their previous three UEFA Cup and UEFA Europa League group stage campaigns.
Trivia and links
• The journey from Moscow to Lisbon is just over 3,900km.
• Sporting's João Pereira and Lokomotiv's Manuel Fernandes were team-mates at SL Benfica.
• Sporting's Ewerton played in Russia for FC Anji Makhachkala, where current Lokomotiv players Arseni Logashov and Mbark Boussoufa were among his team-mates.
The coaches
• A losing UEFA Europa League finalist with SL Benfica in 2013 and 2014, Jorge Jesus unexpectedly left the Eagles for fierce local rivals Sporting this summer. The 61-year-old had started his playing career at Sporting – where his father Virgolino had also been a player – but had coached Benfica since 2009.
• A six-times capped Tajikistan international, Igor Cherevchenko won four Russian Cups as a Lokomotiv player between 1996 and 2001, and a fifth as coach last season. He is the first man to have won the competition as a player and a coach. He has been on the club's coaching staff since 2008.
