In the third round of Europa League group-stage fixtures this season, Sporting Lisbon will travel to Poland to take on Rakow Czestochowa on Thursday.
The visitors make the trip with three points on the board having suffered a defeat to Atalanta in their second outing, while the hosts have lost both of their first two group outings.
Match preview
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After winning their first ever Polish Ekstraklasa title last time around, Rakow Czestochowa entered Champions League qualifying in the first round this year, and they progressed through the rounds impressively, beating Flora, Qarabag and Aris Limassol 4-0, 4-3 and 3-1 respectively on aggregate to reach the playoffs.
Only Copenhagen stood between the Medaliki and a surprise appearance in the group stage of Europe's premier competition, and Dawid Szwarga's side fell just short after a valiant effort, eventually losing 2-1 across the two legs and dropping into the Europa League groups as a result.
Still on a high having reached this stage for the first time in their history, the Polish champions began with a tough trip to Atalanta BC and came away empty-handed, despite keeping the contest goalless until the interval, as Charles De Ketelaere and Ederson sealed a 2-0 victory for the hosts with second-half goals.
Szwarga's side then hosted Sturm Graz in the second round of games and were again unable to spring any suprises despite standing relatively strong, as William Boving's 23rd-minute goal made the only difference between the sides.
Now on the back of a disappointing 2-1 league defeat to Gornik Zabrze at the weekend, seeing them drop to fourth spot in the Ekstraklasa, Rakow Czestochowa will aim to defy the odds on Thursday and take the scalp of the travelling Portuguese giants to put their first points on the board and keep pace in the group.
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Sporting Lisbon will travel aiming to make it two wins from their opening three continental games and take a step towards the knockout stage, having guaranteed a place in the Europa League group stage with their disappointing fourth-placed finish in the Portuguese Primeira Liga last season.
Having missed out on the chance to battle for a Champions League place by finishing four points behind Braga and 11 and 13 points behind Porto and Benfica respectively, Os Leoes' European campaign began with a trip to Austria to take on Sturm Graz, and after William Boving opened the scoring for their hosts around the hour mark, they came from behind to leave with all three points as Viktor Gyokeres levelled the scores before Ousmane Diomande netted the decisive goal six minutes from time.
Aiming to establish their dominance in the group, Ruben Amorim's men then welcomed Italian outfit Atalanta to the Portuguese capital in the second round of games in early October, but they were on the wrong end of a 2-1 scoreline on that occasion, as Gyokeres's 76th-minute goal was not enough to inspire another turnaround after Giorgio Scalvini and Matteo Ruggeri had the visitors 2-0 up in the first half.
Following that defeat, and prior to the recent international break, Os Leoes did at least bounce back on their return to domestic action, beating Arouca 2-1 thanks to goals from Gyokeres and Hidemasa Morita to stay top of the Primeira Liga with 22 points on the board, having now won seven and drawn one of their opening eight league outings.
Now on the back of a 3-1 comeback win away at Olivais e Moscavide in the Taca de Portugal third round on Saturday, in which Marcus Edwards, Geny Catamo and Daniel Braganca got on the scoresheet, Sporting Lisbon will turn their focus back to the Europa League and travel to Poland with the aim of returning to winning ways on the continent and moving onto six points from three outings.
Team News
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Dawid Szwarga tends to line up his Rakow Czestochowa side in a 3-4-3 shape, and we should again see that system on Thursday with Bogdan Racovitan, Adnan Kovacevic and Milan Rundic lining up in an unchanged back three from their meeting with Sturm Graz and the recent league game against Gornik Zabrze.
Key attacker Lukasz Zwolinski missed the weekend's defeat through injury, and he will likely remain confined to the treatment room on Thursday with 19-year-old Ante Crnac expected to again lead the line in his absence, after scoring in vain in his second league start of the season.
He could again be flanked by Sonny Kittel and Bartosz Nowak, while Giannis Papanikolaou and Vladyslav Kocherhin should continue their midfield partnership.
Ruben Amorim fielded a relatively strong Sporting Lisbon XI for their cup tie away at Olivais e Moscavide, but they should certainly return to full strength for Thursday's trip, and Ousmane Diomande will likely come back into the defence after missing Saturday's trip through suspension.
He could join Goncalo Inacio and Sebastian Coates in a back three, while Morten Hjumland should return to the midfield, potentially alongside Daniel Braganca if Hidemasa Morita misses out again.
Further forward, Viktor Gyokeres will likely lead the line in their 3-4-3 shape, having already notched up eight goals in just nine appearances across all competitions since his summer arrival, while Pedro Goncalves, Marcus Edwards, Francisco Trincao and Paulinho are among those fighting to join the Swedish international in attack.
Rakow Czestochowa possible starting lineup:
V Kovacevic; Racovitan, A Kovacevic, Rundic; Tudor, Papanikolaou, Kocherhin, Pestka; Kittel, Crnac, Nowak
Sporting Lisbon possible starting lineup:
Adan; Diomande, Coates, Inacio; Esgaio, Hjumland, Braganca, Santos; Goncalves, Gyokeres, Edwards
We say: Rakow Czestochowa 0-3 Sporting Lisbon
The Polish champions will be desperate to pick up their first points of the group stage, but we can only envisage them being outclassed by a Sporting Lisbon side with superior quality all over the pitch.
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Top tip
Sam Varley
