Preview: Sporting v Schalke
Tuesday, November 4, 2014
Article summary
Marco Silva says it's time for the real Sporting Clube de Portugal to stand up as they bid to bounce back from a heavy loss and preserve their last-16 hopes against FC Schalke 04.
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Article body
• Sporting looking to bounce back after suffering heaviest loss in two years
• Marco Silva says fans will see "the real Sporting" on Wednesday
• Sporting's last-16 hopes will be over if they lose and Chelsea beat Maribor
• Schalke are second in Group G, four points ahead of last-placed Sporting
• Roberto Di Matteo describes Julian Draxler's hamstring injury as a "big blow"
Possible lineups
Sporting: Patrício; Cédric, Sarr, Paulo Oliveira, Jonathan Silva; William, Adrien, João Mário; Nani, Slimani, Carrillo.
• Out: Maurício (suspended)
Schalke: Fährmann; Uchida, Höwedes, Neustädter, Aogo; Höger, Kirchhoff; Choupo-Moting, Boateng/Mayer, Obasi; Huntelaar.
• Out: Draxler (hamstring), Kolašinac (knee), Farfán (knee), Giefer (groin), Matip (foot), Goretzka (match fitness), Santana (match fitness)
• Doubtful: Sam (thigh), Boateng (ankle)
Marco Silva, Sporting coach
We just had a bad day [on matchday three]. We normally press a lot and stop our opponents playing their normal game. I'm sure tomorrow we'll have a good Sporting performance. It will be a tough match, but everyone knows we are only interested in the three points. It's possible that Schalke will just wait for our mistakes so we will take the initiative.
That bad game against Guimarães happened, it's in the past; we need to bounce back. Tomorrow you will see the real team. We had to correct several things over the past three days; it's not much time but there are a lot of ways to do it, on and off the pitch. We know that if we get a good result tomorrow our motivational levels will go back to where they were before the Guimarães match.
Roberto Di Matteo, Schalke coach
Each match has its own history and an away game is completely different from a home one. Tomorrow we expect a hard game against a high quality, technical team. [Julian] Draxler's absence is a big blow for us because he is not an easy player to replace. We have to adapt to this situation and keep the team motivated.
I expect it will be more or less the same side we faced in Germany. [Kevin-Prince] Boateng can help us a lot, but we are a team and I still have to decide the one that will play tomorrow. We showed what we can do in Gelsenkirchen and that's what we are going to do. [Klaas-Jan] Huntelaar is in great shape, he moves very well and combines perfectly with the team. He is a player that I like to watch and I hope he continues his good form.
Weekend results
Vitória SC 3-0 Sporting (Baraky Bouba 15, Maurício og 42, André André 82pen)
Schalke 1-0 FC Augsburg (Huntelaar 37)
Form guide (all competitions)
Sporting: LWLWWL
Schalke: WLWWLD
Match facts
• Which Sporting player was born in Gelsenkirchen? Find out in our extensive match background.