Sporting CP v Beşiktaş background

Sporting Clube de Portugal and Beşiktaş JK look to be facing a straight battle for a UEFA Europa League round of 32 place as they come together in Group H on matchday six.

• Sporting will qualify with a win or with a draw, on head-to-head record at FC Lokomotiv Moskva's expense, if the Russian outfit lose to KF Skënderbeu.

• Beşiktaş need only avoid defeat to make it through. They will miss out if they lose and Lokomotiv win.

• Beşiktaş have an identical head-to-head record in their games against Lokomotiv, which means goal difference – and then goals scored – would be used to separate the sides in the event that they finished level on nine points.

Previous meetings
• The teams drew 1-1 in Istanbul when they met for the first time in UEFA competition on matchday two.

• Sporting's record in five matches against Turkish opposition is W1 D3 L1 (W1 D0 L1 at home).

• Beşiktaş's record in eight games against Portuguese clubs is W2 D2 L4 (W2 D1 L1 in Portugal).

Form guide
• Sporting have lost only one of their last six European home fixtures (W4 D1 L1) – a 3-1 reverse against Lokomotiv on matchday one.

• With a record of W2 D3 in five Group H contests, Beşiktaş are on target to make it through the UEFA Europa League group stage unbeaten for a second season in succession.

• Beşiktaş ended an unusual run of nine European games without scoring more than once in a match with a 2-0 home success against Skënderbeu on 26 November.

• 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.

• The competition's new identity has played well with Beşiktaş: they failed to negotiate all three of their UEFA Cup group stage campaigns, but have been successful in all three of their UEFA Europa League ones.

Trivia and links
• The journey from Istanbul to Lisbon is around 3,250km.

• Beşiktaş's Portugal winger Ricardo Quaresma started his playing career at Sporting, leaving the club for FC Barcelona in 2004. This is the second time he has faced his erstwhile employers in a UEFA encounter.

• Sporting's Alberto Aquilani and Beşiktaş loanee Mario Gomez were team-mates at ACF Fiorentina last term.

• With 41 goals, Gomez is the fourth highest-scoring German player in UEFA club competition history and will join Ulf Kirsten in third place with two more strikes.

• Sporting's Bryan Ruiz and Beşiktaş's Kerim Frei were team-mates at Fulham FC from 2011 to 2013.

• Sporting forward Teófilo Gutiérrez played in Turkey for Trabzonspor AŞ from 2010 to 2011, where his team-mates included Beşiktaş goalkeeper Tolga Zengin.

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 – and had coached Benfica since 2009.

• Former Trabzonspor AŞ and Turkey goalkeeper Şenol Günes took charge at Beşiktaş in June this year. He famously coached Turkey to a bronze-medal finish at the 2002 FIFA World Cup. He has also won two Turkish Cups in the course of four spells as Trabzonspor coach.