Juventus vs Sporting CP facts

Two teams whose 2022/23 continental campaign began in the group stage of the UEFA Champions League contest a place in the UEFA Europa League semi-finals as Italy's Juventus and Portugal's Sporting CP meet in a European knockout tie for the first time.

Juventus recorded a club-record low of just three points in their autumn UEFA Champions League campaign but claimed third place in Group H on goal difference to extend their European involvement into the spring for the 11th successive season and return to the UEFA Europa League for the first time since 2013/14. Having eliminated Nantes in the knockout play-off thanks to a second-leg hat-trick from Ángel Di María (1-1 h, 3-0 a), Massimiliano Allegri's side saw off Freiburg in the round of 16 (1-0 h, 2-0 a) as Di María, Dušan Vlahović and Federico Chiesa all found the net.

Sporting made a strong start in UEFA Champions League Group D before falling away and only just snatching the consolation of third place in the final minute of Matchday 6. Rúben Amorim's team then overcame Midtjylland in the UEFA Europa League knockout play-offs (1-1 h, 4-0 a) before dramatically eliminating English Premier League leaders Arsenal 5-3 on penalties in the round of 16 (2-2 h, 1-1 a), Pedro Gonçalves' spectacular halfway-line lob having drawn the teams level in the second leg in London.

Previous meetings

The clubs have been paired just once previously in UEFA competition, in the 2017/18 UEFA Champions League group stage. Sporting, led by Jorge Jesus, took the lead in both matches, but Allegri's Juventus came back to win the first 2-1 in Turin with goals from Miralem Pjanić (29) and Mario Mandžukić (84) and draw the second in Lisbon 1-1, Gonzalo Higuaín (79) equalising Bruno César's 20th-minute opener.

Juventus have already faced Portuguese opposition this season, losing both UEFA Champions League group games to Sporting's city rivals Benfica (1-2 h, 3-4 a). Those defeats have made the Turin club's overall record against Portuguese clubs W9 D3 L7. At home the figures are now W6 D1 L2, the defeats coming in the first and last encounters, both against Benfica.

In addition to defeating Porto 2-1 in the 1984 European Cup Winners' Cup final Juventus have won three and lost three of their six two-legged ties with Portuguese sides, losing the most recent, against Porto on away goals after extra time in the 2020/21 UEFA Champions League round of 16 (1-2 a, 3-2 h).

This is Sporting's first UEFA encounter with Italian opposition since those two 2017/18 games against Juventus. They have never won in 14 visits to Italy (D3 L11), prevailing in just five of the 29 matches overall (D11 L13).

Sporting's record in two-legged ties with teams from Italy is W2 L8. They have lost all of the last six, the most recent on away goals against Fiorentina in the 2009/10 UEFA Champions League play-offs (2-2 h, 1-1 a).

Form guide

Juventus

Having won a record nine successive Serie A titles between 2012 and 2020, Juve finished fourth for the second season running in 2021/22 – their first with serial Scudetto-winning boss Allegri back at the helm after two years away. They also fell in the UEFA Champions League round of 16 for the third successive season, losing to Villarreal (1-1 a, 0-3 h).

This term Juve made their 23rd UEFA Champions League group stage appearance but it turned out to be a short-lived campaign as they failed to finish in the top two for the first time since 2013/14. Defeated twice by both Paris Saint-Germain (1-2 a, 1-2 h) and Benfica, they also traded wins with Maccabi Haifa (3-1 h, 0-2 a) but pipped the Israeli champions to third place on goal difference.

Three-time UEFA Cup winners, in 1977, 1990 and 1993, the Bianconeri's fourth UEFA Europa League campaign has extended into the last eight for the second time thanks to those successes against Nantes and Freiburg. They won their only other tie at this stage, against Lyon in 2013/14 (1-0 a, 2-1 h), only to be subsequently knocked out in the semi-finals by Benfica (1-2 a, 0-0 h) with the final tantalisingly staged at their home stadium.

Juve have never been beaten at home in any round of the UEFA Europa League (W6 D7). Since moving to the Juventus Stadium in 2011 the Turin team have played 55 European matches there, winning 34 and losing eight, seven of those defeats having come in the last 23 encounters including three of the last six.

Sporting

Champions of Portugal in 2020/21 – their first league title in 19 years – Sporting finished second to Porto last season while retaining the Portuguese League Cup. Led by title-winning boss Amorim, the Lions also reached the UEFA Champions League knockout phase for the first time in 13 years before going out to Manchester City (0-5 h, 0-0 a).

Sporting made it back-to-back UEFA Champions League group campaigns for only the fourth time this season and looked set to repeat their 2021/22 feat when they won their first two games – 3-0 at Eintracht Frankfurt and 2-0 at home to Tottenham – but successive defeats by Marseille (1-4 a, 0-2 h) put a brake on their progress. Although all options were open going into Matchday 6, they lost 1-2 at home to Frankfurt and only edged Marseille into third spot, thus prolonging their European season, thanks to a last-gasp winner from Spurs at the Stade Vélodrome.

Having knocked out Midtjylland and Arsenal, Sporting are participating in the UEFA Europa League quarter-finals for the second time. Like Juventus, they were successful in their lone previous such tie, beating Metalist Kharkiv in 2011/12 (2-1 h, 1-1 a). That run to the semi-finals remains their standout season in the UEFA Europa League, though they were UEFA Cup runners-up in 2005, losing the final 3-1 to CSKA Moskva in their home stadium.

Sporting's record on the road in the UEFA Europa League knockout phase is W2 D6 L8, the comprehensive knockout play-off victory in Denmark against Midtjylland ending a four-match winless sequence (D1 L3). They have, however, lost just two of their last eight European away fixtures (W3 D3), scoring 11 goals in the three victories.

Links and trivia 

Di María played for Benfica between 2007 and 2010 and was a team-mate of Sporting coach Amorim during his second and third seasons with the Lisbon club. They were Portuguese champions together in 2009/10.

Juve's Brazilian defenders Alex Sandro (2011–15) and Danilo (2012–15) both played in Portugal for Porto.

Sporting goalkeeper Antonio Adán played two Serie A games for Cagliari in 2013/14, the second a 1-4 home defeat against Juventus, shortly after which he cancelled his contract with the Sardinian club.

Sporting's reserve goalkeeper Franco Israel spent four seasons with Juventus's youth sides (2018–22) but never played for the first team.

Other Sporting players to have featured for Italian clubs are Luís Neto (Siena 2012/13) and Jovane Cabral, who played three games in Serie A for Lazio in 2022, his first start a 2-2 draw against Juventus.

Neto played briefly alongside Juventus midfielder Leandro Paredes in Russia with Zenit in 2017.

Juve goalkeeper Wojciech Szczęsny and Sporting defender Héctor Bellerín were Arsenal team-mates in 2014/15, winning the FA Cup together.

Juventus were defeated for the first time in seven matches on Saturday, going down 2-1 at Lazio to remain seventh in the Serie A standings.

Sporting, who are fourth in the Portuguese Liga, made it 11 games unbeaten in all competitions on Sunday (W8 D3) with a thrilling 4-3 league win at Casa Pia in which Francisco Trincão scored a hat-trick – the first of his career.

The winners of this tie will face either Manchester United or Sevilla in the semi-final.