Sporting Lisbon v Schalke: Hosts out for revenge

Sporting Lisbon will be out for revenge in the UEFA Champions League after suffering a contentious defeat to Schalke a fortnight ago.

Marco Silva’s Sporting appeared to be on course for a hard-earned point in Gelsenkirchen on October 21, until defender Jonathan Silva was adjudged to have handled in the area in injury time – despite replays clearly showing the ball had struck his head.

Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting netted from 12 yards to give Schalke a 4-3 victory, their first win in Group G, but Sporting were left fuming at referee Sergey Karasev.

In the days following the match the Primeira Liga club even asked UEFA to allow a replay of the match, but that request was rejected.

But Sporting are sure to be chomping at the bit to exorcise those bad memories in front of their own fans on Wednesday – something Schalke defender Jan Kirchhoff is aware of.

“The controversy surrounding the late penalty which we scored to make it 4-3 will definitely help motivate the opposition, so we need to deal with that,” Kirchhoff told the Schalke’s official website.

“We will be doing all we can to return to Germany with the three points. We know that we have enough quality to win in Lisbon.

“With a bit of luck in Lisbon and some help from Chelsea [who lead the group and visit Maribor this week], things will look better for us in the competition.”

For Schalke, life under new head coach Roberto Di Matteo has started well with three wins in four games in all competitions.

Their 1-0 win over Augsburg on Friday was marred by an injury to talismanic midfielder Julian Draxler, though, with the 21-year-old expected to be out for the rest of the year as he recovers from a hamstring tear.

Victory for the visitors, combined with a Chelsea win over Maribor, could help move Di Matteo’s side closer to the last 16 for the third successive season.

Striker Klaas-Jan Huntelaar, who has three in as many Champions League games this season, says the squad are fully focused on their trip to Lisbon.

“It won’t be easy there,” the Dutchman told the club’s official website. “They’re under a bit of pressure and obviously they will absolutely want to get a win against us, especially after the home result.

“We can take a big step towards the last 16 with a win.”

Sporting will hope striker Islam Slimani is fit enough to be involved after returning from injury to be on the bench last weekend, but Mauricio is suspended.