Champions League Matchday 2: Napoli vs Sporting CP facts
Wednesday, September 24, 2025
Article summary
Previous meetings, club facts and key stats ahead of the UEFA Champions League Matchday 2 game.
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Napoli take on Sporting CP looking to bounce back from their opening UEFA Champions League defeat as the champions of Italy and Portugal meet at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona on Matchday 2.
Last match
The teams' only previous meetings came in the 1989/90 UEFA Cup first round when Napoli progressed to the second round thanks to a 4-3 penalty shoot-out success after two goalless games in both Portugal and Italy.
Napoli have lost only two of their 14 matches against Portuguese teams (W8 D4), winning the last four – most recently against Braga in the 2023/24 Champions League group stage (2-1 a, 2-0 h).
Napoli are unbeaten at home against Portuguese visitors (W5 D2).
Sporting are without a win in ten matches against Italian teams (D5 L5), since a 2-1 home defeat of Lazio in the Europa League group stage in September 2011. They drew 1-1 at home to Bologna on Matchday 8 of last season's Champions League.
The Lions have not won in their 17 away games against Serie A sides (D4 L13).
This is Napoli's ninth campaign in the Champions League proper; their best performance came in 2022/23, when they reached the quarter-finals.
The Naples club were not involved in UEFA competition in 2024/25 – the first time they had missed out since 2009/10.
The Lions are making their 12th appearance in the Champions League proper, and a fourth in five seasons.
Sporting were 23rd in last season's league phase (W3 D2 L3), bowing out against Borussia Dortmund in the knockout phase play-offs (0-3 h, 0-0 a).
Key stats
A 2-0 defeat at Manchester City on Matchday 1 – in which they lost Giovanni Di Lorenzo to a 21st-minute red card – was only Napoli's fourth in their last 19 Champions League group stage/league phase games (W11 D4).
The Partenopei have have lost only four of their previous 30 home games in the Champions League proper (W18 D8).
Sporting have lost only three of their last ten away European matches (W3 D4).
A 4-1 win against Kairat Almaty on Matchday 1 means the Lisbon club have scored 99 goals in the Champions League proper.
The defeat of Kairat was Sporting's first win in seven Champions League matches (D2 L4).