Roberto Di Matteo has made a strong start to his time in charge of German side Schalke 04, and after his side's dramatic - but controversial - 4-3 win in the reverse fixture two weeks ago, three points against Sporting Lisbon on Wednesday night will all but guarantee Schalke a place in the last 16. For Sporting and manager Marco Silva, this is a must-win fixture - and they will be out for revenge.
"The late penalty we scored will help motivate the opposition"
- Jan Kirchoff
Sliva's side seemed on track for a hard-earned point last time out with the score tied at 3-3, before defender Jonathan Silva was adjudged to have handled in the area in injury time - despite replays clearly showing the ball had struck his head. Sporting even asked for a replay to be offered, but UEFA turned down the request. The Portugese side will be ready to enact some revenge in front of their own fans, and Schalke defender Jan Kirchhoff is aware of this: "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.
Di Matteo has made a positive start to life in Germany, winning three of his first four fixtures, and a 1-0 win against Augsburg last weekend will have his side approaching Wednesday night with plenty of confidence. Striker Klaas-Jan Huntelaar's first half strike was enough to take all three points, and the result sees Schalke move up to eighth in the table - just four points adrift of the top four places, in an incredible tightly-fought league. With Frieburg ahead this weekend, Di Matteo will be hoping his side can collect all three points and all but confirm their place in the last 16, leaving plenty of time to concentrate on the Bundesliga campaign.
The home side are more fired up than ever, but know that three points is a must if they are to make a charge in order to qualify from Group G. Sitting bottom of the table with just a point from their opening three fixtures, Silva's side know that a slip up against Schalke and a win for Chelsea over Maribor will leave them too far adrift - and that with two games to spare. Of course they will feel aggrieved by the poor officiating in the reverse fixture, but such is football. Sometimes you have to regroup and go again, and Sporting fans will be praying they do just that.
Silva's Sporting side have not had the best of starts their domestic campaign, either, and already sit in sixth place, six points adrift of league leaders Benfica. They go into the fixture on Wednesday night with Schalke in poor form, too, after slipping to a dismal 3-0 defeat to third-placed Vitória Guimarães. The result leaves the players scrambling for confidence after a poor run of games. Silva will be hoping that revenge against Schalke might just kick-start their season.
Luckily for head coach Silva, Sporting have no fresh injury concerns and can field a full-strength starting XI, however Mauricio will miss the visit of Schalke after being sent off when the teams met a fortnight ago.
Di Matteo, however, has a vast number of injury concerns ahead of the game in Lisbon, including Sead Kolasina, Fabian Giefer, and Jefferson Farfan as guaranteed absentees. Julian Draxler is the latest addition to the injury list - a hamstring injury suffered at Augusburg at the weekend ruling him out until the new year. Di Matteo could field a similar side to the team that won at Augsburg.