The coach looks at the first leg tie against Borussia Dortmund

Sporting Clube de Portugal host Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League on Tuesday night, in the first leg of their Round of 16 playoff.

Coach Rui Borges talked about the game in his pre-match press conference.

"Borussia Dortmund have had a change in coach, in formation and in style. They have a lot of players from last season, when they reached the UEFA Champions League final. Even in a league season that is not the best for them, they are still a great team. There will be a reset and a change in attitude, because they have changed coach. Their attack is very strong and they have world-class, elite players. We have to be courageous and ambitious. The help of our fans and their positive energy will be important to us getting the victory, which is always the objective," he began telling journalists.

Asked about the absence of Morten Hjulmand, who is not available for the match, Borges reminded that "the team have always been missing players who were important in winning the title last season, and that includes the captain -especially because he is, along with Viktor Gyökeres, one of the two best players in the Portuguese league."

"It's an important absence: For what he is as a player, for what he represents as a captain, for his personality, for his individual quality. It's an important loss, but whoever plays will want to demonstrate that they are up to the task of, at some point, replacing Morten," he added.

After praising Geovany Quenda, whom he described as "a super focused kid with a huge desire to play and train, even when he is tired" and who "will have a bright future ahead of him", the coach revealed that Gyökeres and Hidemasa Morita have been included in the squad.

Even with the setbacks, Borges guaranteed that Sporting CP "will never stop fighting for victory and being competitive and courageous."

"It has been part of Sporting CP's past and present to focus on youth and on domestic silverware. Within our ideas, there are players from the academy who have trained a lot with us. If we have to use one of them, I have no problem with that. They are prepared. Henrique Arreiol and Eduardo Felicíssimo are not in the squad, but Alexandre Brito is and he has performed fantastically in training. I admire him a lot, he has great potential and is very competitive. He is waiting for an opportunity and he will get it. When he does, he will live up to it in the best way; just like Geovany Quenda and João Simões," he added.

Rui Silva, a winter reinforcement, could make his debut in the UEFA Champions League against Borussia Dortmund.

"He is prepared to play in any game. I believe he has a little more anxiety about it because it is a dream for any athlete, as well as for any coach. He doesn't know if he will play, but he worked normally as he has done since he arrived here. He is completely adapted and the group have also received him in the best way," concluded Borges.