Tottenham returns to Champions League football to take on Sporting Lisbon in matchday five. Spurs will be hoping to return to the winner’s list after a somewhat surprising loss to Newcastle in the EPL. A win for Spurs will see them book safe passage to the knockout phase of UEFA’s top-tier competition.
These two sides have only faced each other once in European competition. That was earlier in this Champions League campaign and it ended in a win for the Portuguese side. Tottenham will take solace from the fact that Sporting have only ever won 2 competitive fixtures in England in their history, despite having fifteen attempts.
On top of that, Spurs have won six of their seven fixtures on home soil against European competition. Their only defeat in that run was a loss to Sportings rivals Benfica back in the 2014 Europa League competition.
Tottenham vs Sporting Lisbon FYIs
Kick Off: Weds, Oct 26, 2022, at 8 pm UK at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium
Competition: UCL Group A, Matchday 5 of 6
Tottenham Starting XI Prediction: Go Here
After Extra Time Podcast: Spotify Apple
UCL Group Standings: Tottenham: 1st, 7pts Sporting Lisbon 3rd, 6pts
Team News
Cristian Romero and Pierre Emile Hojbjerg both will face late fitness tests to judge their fitness for this fixture. Romero is currently struggling with a calf injury and Hojbjerg is recovering from a thigh complaint. Dejan Kulusevski and Richarlison are both unlikely to appear and are more longer-term concerns. Here is the latest from manager Antonio Conte regarding those two players.
Dejan Kulusevski (Thigh)
“I think we have to wait a bit of time to see him with us. His recovery was going well, and then one day, the situation worsened. When this happens, you have to restart.” [Oct 21]
Richarlison (Calf)
“Richy has his injury, it’s not a serious injury, but he needs a bit of time to recover. He was really worried after the game against Everton” [Oct 17]
Stuey’s Two Cents
Tottenham is in need of a reaction after a horrid week that saw them lose two matches back-to-back in the Premier League. Antonio Conte will have his men fired up for this one, particularly when you factor in their loss to the Portuguese side in the reverse fixture. There has been an average of over four goals in Spurs home fixtures in the Champions League, so this one should be a goal fest.
Stuart Kavanagh is a journalist currently residing in Broken Hill, Australia. He writes for the Barrier Truth newspaper, along with being the owner of the sports and entertainment website thepyrrhic.com, He co-hosts the ‘After Extra Time’ podcast and contributes at edgeofthecrowd.com when time permits. He is also the Media & Communications Director at the Newosis Mental Health Foundation. You can find more about the work Newosis Mental Health Foundation does here.
Football mad, he is always down for debate and discussion at @stueyissickofit on Twitter.