Sporting need to win their last two matches against Basel and Videoton. Meanwhile, they must hope that the Hungarian side does not defeat Genk. This is a hard task for Franky Vercauteren, who inherited a team in need to restart from zero. The players had lost all the confidence as problems on the pitch piled up. Sporting’s defensive system lost its effectiveness but changes are being made progressively.
Cédric returns to the team as no other right back is available to play on Thursday. Schaars is suspended while Adrien is in position to start in Basel. Van Wolfswinkel will have Carrillo and Capel to feed him with the ball as scoring goals is a must.
Franky Vercauteren is set to call on some youngster for the fixture. Goalkeeper Victor Golas, centre-back Tiago Ilori, and André Martins are all in the roster and should find a place on the bench. Viola and Betinho may also get some playing minutes. Meanwhile, Russian player Izmailov did not travel with the Sporting squad. He is yet to recover from the injury that has kept him out of the team’s last three fixtures.
Sporting played twice at Basel, in 2007/08 and 2008/09. The Lions won both games but none of the goal scorers will be able to repeat their feat. Pereirinha, who scored the first goal in 2007/08, is still part of Sporting Lisbon. However, he is out through injury.
Prediction
As hard as it might be for Sporting, winning is essential, and the Lions might achieve this result again this season.
Result: Basel 0-2 Sporting
