Tottenham Hotspur vs Sporting Lisbon

This fifth Champions League matchday could be looked back on as a decisive one for an evenly-contested Group B, with all four participants heading into the evening with the potential of ending it at the top of the standings. Despite being widely expected to progress into the knockout stages, Tottenham Hotspur risk taking the top-two battle to the final round as they meet Sporting Lisbon at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

With only three points separating all four teams heading into the final two group stage matchdays, Tottenham will bank on their 100% home record in Group B (W2). Antonio Conte could enter ‘Spurs’ folklore by becoming the second-ever manager to win his first three Champions League home matches in charge of the ‘Lillywhites.’ Avenging a 2-0 defeat to Sporting in the reverse fixture tops the Italian’s assignment list after Newcastle United knocked his side down from a perfect seven-game home start in all competitions (W7) with a 2-1 victory at the weekend. Since the Londoners boast an eye-catching home European record against Portuguese visitors (W6, L1), qualifiers included, this should be Tottenham’s win every day of the week.

Or maybe not? After seeing his rising stocks elevated by a come-from-behind 3-1 league triumph over Casa Pia at the weekend, Sporting boss Ruben Amorim is seeking another European upset. The highly-rated manager inspired Sporting’s thumping 3-0 victory at Eintracht Frankfurt on day one and will aim at another surprise scalp on foreign soil. However, back-to-back defeats to Marseille in the build-up to this fixture have derailed Sporting’s chances of reaching the Champions League knockouts for the second season running. Level on points with second-placed Marseille, ‘Los Leoes’ need to better the French team’s results in the final two Group B rounds as the H2H tiebreak favours ‘Les Olympiens.’ But without winning any of their last eight European matches away to English clubs (D3, L5), the visitors have every reason for concern.