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

For the first time in over three years, Marseille will visit Estadio Jose Alvalade on Wednesday for a date with Sporting Lisbon on matchday three of the Champions League campaign.

Both teams are tied on three points after two games, with the Portuguese losing 2-1 to Napoli earlier this month, while OM thumped Ajax 4-0 the last time around.

Match preview

A day where they celebrated scoring their 100th Champions League goal was tainted by the fact that Sporting could not keep the Italians at bay on matchday two, conceding two goals on the three targeted efforts they gave up.

At home, this team have been strong, especially in this competition, collecting points in four of their previous five League Phase affairs at Estadio Jose Alvalade, including a 4-1 win over Kairat in Lisbon on matchday one.

Rui Borges’s men are currently on a three-match unbeaten run at home across all competitions, outscoring their opponents by a combined margin of 8-2 during that streak.

Sporting have not lost any of their previous eight meetings versus French opposition in UEFA competitions, winning on six of those occasions, including a 2-0 triumph over Lille in their opening League Phase contest last season.

So far in 2025-26, they have claimed six points domestically when conceding first, while they have yet to lose a competitive fixture this season when netting the opener.

Overall, Leoes have won just one of their previous eight Champions League affairs, scoring nine goals over that span, four of which came against Kairat earlier in this campaign.

Their opening game against Real Madrid did not end as they had hoped, but since then, Marseille have looked almost unbeatable both domestically and in Europe.

Following a controversial 2-1 defeat to the Spaniards, Robert De Zerbi’s men have reeled off five straight wins across all competitions, scoring a combined 13 goals in those last three games.

Playing away from home has been a nightmare for them in this competition, with Les Olympiens losing 11 of their previous 12 Champions League affairs as the visitors.

A win on matchday three would mark the first time this side will have claimed consecutive victories in this phase of the tournament since 2022.

They have won their previous two competitive games played away from home, conceding just a single goal in those two outings combined.

Marseille have lost four of their five visits to Portugal in this tournament, but won their only two Champions League matches played against Sporting, claiming a 2-0 triumph at Estadio Jose Alvalade in 2022.

Sporting Lisbon Champions League form:

Sporting Lisbon form (all competitions):

Marseille Champions League form:

Marseille form (all competitions):

Team News

On Wednesday, Sporting will be missing Nuno Santos and vice captain Daniel Braganca, both of whom are recovering from cruciate ligament injuries.

Luis Suarez converted a penalty on matchday two to briefly put them on level terms, while a brace from Francisco Trincao, plus goals by Alisson de Almeida Santos and Geovany Tcherno Quenda gave them a convincing triumph in their opener.

Meanwhile, for Marseille, Geoffrey Kondogbia is expected to sit out of this one with a calf strain, Amine Gouiri has a shoulder issue, Facundo Medina is dealing with an ankle sprain and Hamed Traore is doubtful because of a leg injury.

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang became the oldest Champions League player to be involved in three goals in one match against Ajax, scoring once and assisting on goals by Mason Greenwood and Igor Paixao at the age of 36 years and 104 days, while the Brazilian striker netted twice in the victory.

Sporting Lisbon possible starting lineup:

Virginia; Fresneda, Quaresma, Inacio, Araujo; Hjulmand, Morita; Quenda, Trincao, Goncalves; Suarez

Marseille possible starting lineup:

Rulli; Pavard, Aguerd, Balerdi, Palmieri; O’Riley, Vermeeren; Greenwood, Nadir, Paixao; Aubameyang

We say: Sporting Lisbon 1-2 Marseille

Marseille are firing on all cylinders right now, and in their current form, we find it hard to believe an inconsistent Sporting can contain them for 90 minutes.

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