Sporting miss out on European progress with loss in the Polish capital

A tough loss to swallow, particularly with the continuation of this season's European campaign dependent on getting a least a draw in the Polish capital. The powerful Borussia Dortmund and Real Madrid inevitably led the pack at the final tally in Group F, while Legia Warsaw snatched 3rd place and the respective Europa League berth.

William Carvalho set the tone of the evening with a shout across the face of goal in the 5th minute, with what was the first of a wealth of shots finishing on the wrong side of the post. Legia's response was largely through quick counter attacks and some calculated play saw the Polish hosts take in a 1-0 lead at the break.

Sporting CP attempted to rally after the break, but a lack of an eye for goal and some fine defending from Arkadiusz Malarz kept Legia ahead. André came close with 15 minutes of the clock with a snap volley that would have looped in under the bar, had it not been for the home keeper tipping over. Sporting CP's best efforts were finally dashed in the 85th minute, when William Carvalho was given his marching orders.

Tickets for Setúbal to go on sale on Thursday

Tickets for the Portuguese Cup encounter between Vitória Futebol Clube and Sporting Clube de Portugal will go on sale on Thursday at the Estádio José Alvalade ticket offices (open from 10h to 20h).

Kick-off is scheduled for 21h00 on Wednesday the 14th of December, in Estádio do Bonfim.

GOAL END | €7.5 (exclusively for Sporting Clube de Portugal Members) or €10

LATERAL | €18

CENTRAL | €22

Jorge Jesus announces squad for Champions League matchday 6

Jorge Jesus has announced his squad to face Legia Warsaw, on Champions League matchday six:

1 – Rui Patrício
3 – Lazar Markovic
4 – Jefferson
8 – Petrovic
10 – Bryan Ruiz
11 – Bruno César
13 – Sebastian Coates
14 – William Carvalho
15 – Paulo Oliveira
16 – André Felipe
19 – Douglas Teixeira
20 – Luc Castaignos
22 – Elias Trindade
23 – Adrien Silva
25 – Marcelo Meli
28 – Bas Dost
31 – Marvin Zeegelaar
34 – Beto Pimparel
35 – Rúben Semedo
47 – Ricardo Esgaio
73 – Matheus Pereira
77 – Gelson Martins
82 – Pedro Silva

Jorge Jesus dismisses the weather and affirms his side's readiness

Almost two hours after Legia coach Jacek Magier has backed Sporting CP as favourites to clinch the points in the Polish capital tomorrow, Jorge Jesus dismissed any sense of overconfidence and instead focused on the task at hand.

“What idea their coach has of us isn't that important to me. What matters is that we show what we are capable of. We know they will squeeze us on the pitch and from the stands, but the lads are used to it and it isn't the cold or the fans that will affect us", opened Jorge Jesus, going on to analyse the difference between the two sides: "You can say a team is favourite or not based on history. We could be considered as favourite because how how we have played in the group and we have been a bit unlucky really. We could have had more points, especially with how we played against Real Madrid and Dortmund. We wanted to get past the group stage, which we didn't, but we will push on anyway. We know that Legia are a creative side and tomorrow we will have to do again what we did against the other two teams in our group."

The Lisbon derby is just around the corner and Sporting CP are going in to the encounter tomorrow on the back of a tough hosting of Setúbal. However, Jesus affirmed his side's focus on tomorrow: "Like I said, 90% of what we are doing is about tomorrow. Obviously some of the lads might be carrying some knocks from Setúbal and we won't be taking any risks. Nothing special has happened yet, so I don't think we will have to worry about that sort of thing."

Bryan Ruiz confident in Sporting CP's chances of a place in the Europa League

"We won at home, but it wasn't easy and we had to fight hard to get the points. It will be a difficult match, but we believe we will get into the Europa League", said Bryan Ruiz in Tuesday's pre-match press conference.

The Polish capital is currently a good 20 degrees colder than Lisbon, however Ruiz dismissed the impact of the weather: "I don't think the cold will affect how we play. We are used to playing in places like this. We have played in Russia before and I don't think it makes a difference. We know how important it is for us to carry on in Europe and we know what we have to do tactically tomorrow."

Jesus leads his first training session Warsaw ahead of Champions League matchday 6

Information from the Sporting CP medical department

Sporting Clube de Portugal's medical department has released the following clinical update:

Alan Ruiz: Flu

Joel Campbell: twisted knee

Lukas Spalvis: recovering from knee surgery

Ezequiel Schelotto: injury to the right calf muscle

Useful information for Sporting CP fans travelling for Champions League matchday 6

Sporting Clube de Portugal will be in Poland on Wednesday, for a 20h45CET Champions League matchday 6 kick-off against Legia Warsaw.

To ensure that matchday is enjoyed without incident, fans should take into consideration the following:

Temperatures are expected to be between 0ºC and -9ºC, with periods of snow and rain. We recommend that our fans remain indoors until heading for the stadium. The Polish authorities have deemed that not enough visiting fans will be attending to justify a meeting point.

The recommended mode of transport is taxi, to the following address: 4 Mysliwiecka Street, which is next to the stadium and the entrance for Sporting Clube de Portugal's fans, who will enter through Gate D1 – SOUTH Zone.

Buses for Organised Fan Groups will also travel to 4 Mysliwiecka Street. Polish police will be present before, during and after the match.

It is vital that away fans avoid the NORTH zone of the stadium, including Lazienkowska Street – where Legia Warsaw's radical groups generally gather.

We further recommend that all Sporting Clube de Portugal fans avoid wearing club scarves, shirts or other material associated to Sporting CP.

The use of pyrotechnical devices in Poland is a crime and Sporting CP will pay the upmost attention to the behaviour of our fans in this respect.

Other information:

• Gates open 2 hours before kick-off (18h45CET);
• SCP fans sectors - 221 and 222 (Upper Tier) Entrance D1;
• You must bring a form of identification with you, as it may be requested at the entrance to the stadium
• € (euros) are not accepted
• Polish currency – Zloty –  1euro = 4.46 Zloty;
• Polish time = +1 hour in relation to Lisbon.

Bruno de Carvalho unveils new Sporting Academy School in Athens

Speaking from Athens, where he is opening the doors to a new Sporting Academy School, president Bruno de Carvalho set out his plans for the rest of the current campaign.

“What matters is that we keep cool and stick together. Yesterday we had more than 43,000 people in the stadium and I think that the fans are calm with the excellent work we are doing. That is what I said when we were seven points behind, when we were five points behind and now when we are two points behind", said the Alvalade boss in the Greek capital, adding: "There are three really strong sides in the league: Sporting CP, FC Porto and Benfica. It will be tight race right until the end, but we have everything we need to bring the title home for the fans. This is a marathon, not a sprint. and it is the most consistent and intelligent team in the run in that will win it."

A crucial Champions League encounter with Legia Warsaw awaits on Wednesday, before the weekend's Lisbon derby. "Right now the coaching staff and the players are all in symphony and focused. We will have a tough game in Warsaw and then we will go to the Luz and do our job, which is bringing back three points", said Bruno de Carvalho.

Jorge Jesus pleased with his side's dismantling of Setúbal on Saturday night

"We scored two good goals. Vitória de Setúbal barely caused us any problems at all", affirmed Jorge Jesus at the final whistle this Saturday, before adding his usual analysis of the action: "The story of the match was pretty much how Sporting CP played in the first-half. For me it was a 4-0 win, but officially it was 2-0. Both of Bas Dost's goals were fine, but what I would stress if how well we played in the first-half. Seeing a goal ruled out when their was nothing wrong with it took the wind out of us a bit. The lads and the fans deserve to be congratulated for tonight."

The Lisbon derby is just around the corner, with Liga NOS top spot up for grabs, however Jesus is keen to keep his focus on the task at hand: "We are in the race, but what matters is the Champions League match we have coming up first."