Portuguese champions Sporting CP face French outfit Lille on the opening night of the Champions League this Tuesday.

Ruben Amorim’s Sporting romped home to the Primeira Liga title in 2023/24 and have made an impressive start to defending their crown this season. They have won all five of their league matches to date, scoring a staggering 19 goals and conceding just two.

Sporting have never made it beyond the last 16 of the Champions League but they will be looking to change that this term, especially with in-form sharpshooter Viktor Gyokeres leading the line.

Similarly, Lille have never made the last eight of Europe’s premier competition, most recently being dumped out during the 2022/23 group stage. They head into this year’s Champions League campaign in questionable form having lost their last three matches in all competitions – most recently losing 1-0 to Saint-Etienne on the road.

Here is 90min’s guide to Sporting vs Lille on Tuesday.

Location: Lisbon, Portugal
Stadium: Estadio Jose Alvalade
Date: Tuesday 17 September
Kick-off Time: 20:00 BST / 15:00 ET / 12:00 PT
Referee: Donatas Rumsas (LIT)
VAR: Aleandro Di Paolo (ITA)

Sporting CP vs Lille H2H Record (All Time)

Current form (all competitions)

Sporting don’t have too many injury concerns ahead of their Champions League encounter but they are without two of their goalkeepers. Both Vladan Kovacevic and young Diogo Pinto feature alongside defender Jeremiah St. Juste in the treatment room.

There’s little doubt that Swedish forward Gyokeres will be heavily involved on Tuesday. He has scored eight goals in five league games already, while the influential Pedro Goncalves has been a key provider with four goals and three assists.

Sporting CP predicted lineup vs Lille (3-4-3): Israel; Debast, Inacio, Diomande; Catamo, Braganca, Hjulmand, Santos; Trincao, Gyokeres, Goncalves.

Lille have some injury concerns of their own and will be without Ngal’ayel Mukau, Samuel Umtiti, Ismaily and Hakon Haraldsson for the trip to Lisbon. Ethan Mbappe, brother of Kylian, is also a doubt after missing Friday’s defeat through injury.

Former Benfica midfielder Andre Gomes could start in midfield, with ex-Sporting youth product Tiago Santos also an option at wing-back. However, Jonathan David remains the real threat for Lille and he proved crucial in qualifying against Slavia Prague.

Angel Gomes, whose father represented Portugal’s Under-21s, made his England debut over the recent international break and he’s certain to be involved in midfield.

Lille predicted lineup vs Sporting CP (3-4-3): Chevalier; Meunier, Diakite, Ribeiro; Santos, Andre, Angel Gomes, Gudmundsson; Zhegrova, David, Sahraoui.

Sporting are clear favourites for Tuesday’s encounter given their impressive early season form and fantastic home record. They haven’t lost a match at Estadio Jose Alvalade since their narrow defeat to eventual Europa League winners Atalanta last October.

In Gyokeres, they also boast one of Europe’s most devastating strikers, with the likes of Goncalves and Francisco Trincao in excellent form either side of the Swede. Lille started the season in encouraging form but their three successive defeats may become four on Tuesday,

Prediction: Sporting CP 2-0 Lille

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