Europa League winners Eintracht Frankfurt begin their 2022-23 Champions League campaign with a showdown against Sporting Lisbon on Wednesday evening.
However, both clubs head into this contest having endured a mixed start to their domestic schedules, increasing the pressure ahead of the game at Deutsche Bank Park.
Match preview
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Given the excitement of the new season on the back of triumphing in European football's secondary competition, a 6-1 home defeat to Bayern Munich is not what Frankfurt's supporters had in mind at the start of August.
However, they have since steadied the ship, posting successive draws before scoring four goals in each of their wins over Werder Bremen and RB Leipzig.
The victory over the latter was particularly eye-catching, Frankfurt netting two early strikes before putting the game beyond doubt after the break.
Having put together a four-game unbeaten streak, Oliver Glasner will feel that his side are now trending in the right direction ahead of starting their schedule in a winnable Champions League group.
Nevertheless, each of the quartet of teams - the others being Tottenham Hotspur and Marseille - will feel the same, and Glasner will believe that maximum points is imperative in arguably their most favourable fixture of the group.
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From Sporting's perspective, they have certainly not enjoyed the ideal start in Portugal's top flight, already losing twice in five games.
While losing at Porto was also a strong possibility, succumbing 2-0 at home to Chaves was a reality check and evidence that Ruben Amorim's side are not necessarily up to speed.
Even though they were able to respond with a much-needed 2-0 success at Estoril Praia on Friday night, Sporting are down in eighth position and eight points adrift of leaders Benfica.
Amorim will insist on taking one fixture at a time, but there is a feeling that Sporting need to produce a statement performance to reassure supporters that they will have some kind of European football to look forward to after the World Cup.
These two sides are squaring off in a competitive European match for the first time in their history.
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Team News
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Kristijan Jakic may be drafted into the Frankfurt midfield after Sebastian Rode was an early withdrawal against RB Leipzig.
Having deputised for Luca Pellegrini in the same game, Christopher Lenz could remain on the left-hand side of defence.
The remainder of the team may stay the same with Almamy Toure and Aurelio Buta still sidelined through injury.
With Amorim having made changes to his defence for the Estoril fixture, he must decide whether to recall Goncalo Inacio.
Jeremiah St Juste and Matheus Reis will both feel that they deserve to start after helping Sporting to a clean sheet on their travels.
Amorim made just one alteration during that contest, a sign that he was looking to build some momentum and familiarity.
Eintracht Frankfurt possible starting lineup:
Trapp; Knauff, Tuta, Ndicka, Pellegrini; Jakic, Sow; Lindstrom, Gotze, Kamada; Muani
Sporting Lisbon possible starting lineup:
Adan; St Juste, Coates, Reis; Porro, Ugarte, Morita, Santos; Trincao, Edwards, Pote
We say: Eintracht Frankfurt 2-1 Sporting Lisbon
With both teams having prevailed in their latest league fixture, there will be a feeling of optimism heading into this contest. However, while we expect Sporting to get on the scoresheet in Germany, we are backing Frankfurt to make their home advantage count in what should be an entertaining tussle.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
