Preview:Juventus vs Sporting Lisbon - prediction, team news, lineups

Still seeking their first Champions League win of the season, Italian giants Juventus will host Portuguese champions Sporting Lisbon on Tuesday.

While Juve have picked up just one point - amid a crisis that prompted change in the dugout - Sporting are within touching distance of the all-important top eight after posting two wins from three games so far.

Match preview

Following two dramatic draws - 4-4 against Borussia Dortmund and 2-2 versus Villarreal - Juventus were faced with perhaps the ultimate test last time out in the Champions League, as they visited the Bernabeu.

Despite putting up a decent fight, the Bianconeri were still beaten by Real Madrid, prolonging an awful run of form. After eight games without a win across all competitions, Italy’s most successful club soon parted company with Igor Tudor, eager to halt their decline.

Under caretaker coach Massimo Brambilla, Juve finally ended their long wait for a win by beating Udinese 3-1 - a result that preceded the arrival of their vastly experienced new boss.

Former Napoli and Italy coach Luciano Spalletti was handed an initial contract until the end of the season, and he took charge of Saturday's Serie A clash with Cremonese, which marked the club's 128th birthday.

There was a perfect start to Spalletti's reign, as Filip Kostic scored within two minutes of kickoff, before Andrea Cambiaso added a second soon after the hour mark; albeit Jamie Vardy's late response made for a nervy ending.

Victory kept Juventus in touch with the top four, but they must now switch attention to kick-starting an ailing continental campaign.

Dating back to last season, Juve have won only two of their last 11 Champions League contests - though they do have a positive record against this week's opponents.

Unbeaten in four games against Sporting to date, the Bianconeri have won both meetings in Turin; most recently eliminating the Portuguese side in the 2023 Europa League quarter-finals.

Tuesday's match will mark Sporting's 20th competitive fixture in Italy, and they are still looking for an elusive first victory, having lost on 14 occasions.

They have actually been beaten on the Italian peninsula in three of the last four seasons, including that Europa League defeat to Juventus and last month's loss to Napoli.

The Lions have also lost their last three Champions League away games by the same 2-1 scoreline, but they still sit five points above Juve in the table.

So far this season, Sporting followed a 4-1 home win over Kairat on matchday one with defeat in Naples, before getting the better of Marseille last time out.

They had to come from behind to edge an incident-packed match at Estadio Alvalade, taking advantage of their visitors going down to 10 men just before the break.

During the second half, Sporting piled on the pressure, with goals by substitutes Geny Catamo and Alisson Santos keeping them in contention for direct progress to the knockout phase.

In Friday night's Primeira Liga fixture, Rui Borges saw his side post a fifth straight success across all competitions, as the back-to-back reigning champions stayed level on points with pace-setters Porto.

Second-half strikes from Fotis Ioannidis and Pedro Goncalves saw off Alverca, just days after the teams had met in the Taca da Liga quarter-finals, so Sporting will head for Turin full of confidence.

Juventus Champions League form:

D D L

Juventus form (all competitions):

D L L L W W

Sporting Lisbon Champions League form:

W L W

Sporting Lisbon form (all competitions):

D W W W W W

Team News

Spalletti surprisingly kept Tudor's trademark three-man defence on Saturday - albeit a more fluid version - rather than switching to his favoured 4-3-3 formation, so Juventus could name a similar XI to that which started in Cremona.

South American defensive duo Bremer and Juan Cabal are still sidelined by injury, but Kenan Yildiz (knee) and Lloyd Kelly (muscular) could be available after missing out at the weekend.

Juve's front line has chopped and changed this season, but Dusan Vlahovic started the last two games alongside Lois Openda, with Jonathan David falling out of favour.

To date, Vlahovic has recorded 11 goal involvements from 19 Champions League appearances, while Sporting star Pedro Goncalves has played a part in nine goals from 16 - the most of any player in the club's history.

Again joining forces with Francisco Trincao and Geovany Quenda across the final third, 'Pote' should support either Ioannidis or Luis Suarez up front.

Sporting will be missing long-term absentees Nuno Santos and Daniel Braganca, while Zeno Debast remains a doubt and right-back Ivan Fresneda limped off on Friday night, to be replaced by Georgios Vagiannidis.

Juventus possible starting lineup:

Di Gregorio; Kalulu, Rugani, Gatti; Cambiaso, Thuram, Locatelli, Kostic; Koopmeiners, Yildiz; Vlahovic

Sporting Lisbon possible starting lineup:

Silva; Vagiannidis, Diomande, Inacio, Araujo; Hjulmand, Simoes; Quenda, Trincao, Goncalves; Suarez