Sporting aim for a third straight win

Sporting host LASK Linz at the José Alvalade stadium in Lisbon on Wednesday, 21 October, with kick-off at 20:00 in the third matchday of the Champions League league phase. The hosts beat Galatasaray 3-1 at home and Lens 2-0 away, and sit sixth with six points. LASK, the Austrian champions, are 33rd and still without a point. Nicholas Walsh from Scotland will referee the match.

Rui Borges said a home win would not guarantee a place in the play-off round, but it would be an important step towards the first objective. The Sporting coach also warned against underestimating opponents, noting that several strong teams in this edition have run into setbacks against sides few expected to beat them.

“We do not guarantee qualification, but if we get the nine points, we take an important step towards the first objective, the play-off.”

Coaches weigh the Austrian challenge

Dietmar Kuhbauer, 55, described the trip to Lisbon as demanding and said his side would need to perform at its highest level. He said LASK aim to win but declined to say much about tactics, suggesting Borges already knows how his team will set up. Kuhbauer praised Luis Suárez as a strong finisher and said LASK hope to neutralise him completely through a collective defensive effort rather than a plan built around one player.

“Sporting have played very well in the first two games of the Champions League, and we will have to carry out our mission with great rigour.”

Alessandro Schöpf, the LASK midfielder, sent a similar warning before the squad left for Portugal, saying the Sporting side is not weaker than Liverpool.

“Sporting is not inferior to Liverpool in terms of quality.”

Kuhbauer added that without a good performance the odds would be against his team, though he said it would be a shame to travel to Lisbon only to see the stadium.

Absences and the goalkeeper decision

Three Sporting players missed the final training session, a 15-minute session open to the media at the Alcochete academy on Tuesday, 20 October: Zeno Debast, Rodrigo Zalazar and Nuno Santos. Zalazar was injured in the match against Braga and missed the trip to Lens, Debast has been out with physical problems, and Nuno Santos is still working to regain his form. Borges said Debast and Zalazar are close to returning, but not in time for Wednesday. A centre-back who has been available for two or three weeks is waiting for an opportunity after recovering from injury. In goal, Borges started Kaique Pereira over Rui Silva against Lens, and he would not say who starts against LASK, saying the goalkeepers themselves did not know. He said he would decide on Wednesday, 21 October.

LASK's form and Sporting's system

LASK lost 1-0 at AEK and were beaten 6-3 by Liverpool in their first two games. Sporting switched from a 4-2-3-1 to a more classic 4-3-3 in their last two matches. Borges explained that with two wide players the full-backs are exposed less often to fast counterattacks, a change from when the left winger drifted inside. Silas Andersen, the Sporting midfielder who fielded a question on the switch, said the coach decides the system and he is happy with whatever Borges chooses. A Brazilian centre-back who left Brazil for Portimonense and later joined LASK said Austrian football is more physical, while Portuguese football offers more technical and individual quality. Kick-off is at 20:00 on Wednesday, 21 October.