Nuno Almeida for Liga NOS matchday 13

Nuno Almeida, 40, from the Algarve Football Association, has been named to take charge of Liga NOS matchday 13, between Sporting and Moreirense.

Paulo Ramos and Pais António will act as linesmen.

Sporting-Moreirense will kick off at 18h15 on Sunday, in Estádio José Alvalade.

Jorge Jesus' pre-match press conference ahead of Moreirense

While accepting that his team is flying high right now following Thursday's Europa League win, Jorge Jesus cautioned to the danger posed by the visiting Moreirence this Sunday.

“It is another game on top of a midweek game for us. The team is feeling good, because winning if of course the best remedy. The lads are on a high right now and tomorrow will be business as usual for us: a defensively oriented team, who have already taken points off one of our competitors. It will be difficult to find space as it always is and we will see is we have the capacity going forward to score", opened the Alvalade boss, adding: “Sometimes the games you would think are easier are actually harder. You just can't predict it and if we did then we would all be bet. Our league is really competitive, but all that matters is that we defend first place, regardless of who we play against."

Revealing that Ewerton will be included in the squad, Jesus highlighted that consistency will be the key in the run at the end of the season: "What determines the league are the last matches of the season, that is where the winner is decided. Of course to get to the end of the season with a chance you have to win now. Right now we are in first and the squad is feeling really confident. We deserve to be in first and now we want to defend that position."

To finish, the Sporting coach responded to a question on what is the best squad he has worked with to date, as well as Thursday's Europa League win against Besiktas.

“The situation here at Sporting is new for me and for the players. Everyone is really excited about what we are doing, but we have to carry on growing and I believe that we will be even better in the second half of the season. The players have shown a great level of intelligence and it has been a pleasant surprise. With my way of training, intelligence is really important. The way we work needs the players to make use of different resources beyond just simple quality. I honestly am really surprised at how far we have come in such a short time."

“(Besiktas) was a really important game for us in the Europa League and I didn't think we would keep our cool the way we did. If we can have the stadium tomorrow the way it was on Thursday, it would be the best way to help the team win."

Sporting-Moreirense will get underway on Sunday the 13th of December at 18h15, in Estádio José Alvalade.

Costa Rican finishes close second in Player of the Week nominations

Bryan Ruiz finished a close second in the Europa League Player of the Week nominations this week, after his brilliant performance against Besiktas which saw him score Sporting's second in a 3-1 win.

Ruiz talled 43% of the vote to finish behind Fenerbahçe captain Gökhan Gönül.

Also in the running for the award and all finishing with 1% of the vote were Erik Lamela (Tottenham), Henrikh Mkhitaryan (B. Dortmund), Dries Mertens (Napoli), Choupo-Moting (Schalke 04), as well as Piotr Trochowski (Augsburg) and Nathaniel Clyne (Liverpool) with 0%.

Portuguese Cup ticket sales to being on Saturday the 12th of December

Tickets for the 5th round of the Portuguese Cup, between Sporting Clube de Braga and Sporting Clube de Portugal, will go on sale on Saturday the 12th of December as follows:

SATURDAY | Club Members with a Gamebox 2015/2016 and November 2015 fees paid
SUNDAY | Club Members without a Gamebox and November 2015 fees paid
MONDAY AND TUESDAY | General public

Estádio José Alvalade ticket offices will be open everyday from 10h00 to 20h00, with tickets priced as follows:

ORGANISED FAN GROUP ZONE | €8 (Sector A16 and A15)
CENTRAL STAND | €22 (Sector C6)

Sporting fans in the north of the country can also purchase tickets at the following locations:

SUPPORTERS' CLUBS | Braga, Gondomar, Vila do Conde, Famalicão, Fafe and Póvoa do Lanhoso
DELEGATION | Solar do Norte (Porto)

Kick off is scheduled for 20h00 on Wednesday the 16th of December, in the Braga Municipal Stadium.

Find out more about who Sporting could face in the Europa League knock-out stages

Sporting secured second place in Europa League Group H this Thursday, courtesy of a memorable 3-1 over Besiktas in Lisbon. Lokomotiv Moscow topped the group, leaving Sporting with 13 possible opponents in the next round, to be drawn on Monday in Nyon.

Possible opponents:

- Manchester United (England)

- Bayer Leverkusen (Germany)

- Olympiacos (Greece)

- Molde (Norway)

- Liverpool (England)

- Krasnodar (Russia)

- Napoli (Italy)

- Rapid Vienna (Austria)

- Lazio (Italy)

- Tottenham (England)

- Basel (Switzerland)

- Athl. Bilbao (Spain)

- Schalke 04 (Germany)

Memorable comeback sees Sporting through to the Europa League knock-out stages

With just 25 minutes left on the clock, the odds were certainly stacked against Sporting: Lokomotiv held a lead a lead in Albania and Besiktas were 1-0 up in Alvalade. However, Jorge Jesus' side once again showed a cool head that has been so characteristic of this season, coming back to win 3-1 and secure a place in the next round of the Europa League.

It was Sporting who made the stronger start of the two sides, creating a chance almost from the off with a delicate first touch from Montero and a shot from João Mário to test Zengin. However, Besiktas soon found their footing, courtesy largely of some aggressive midfield play and high pressure defending that saw a fair share of passes miss the mark. Again Montero was the instigator up front for Sporting with a dangerous shot that was deflected wide, before the the visiting Turks saw a few chances of their own go wanting.

Clean chances on goal for Besiktas were few and far between, but the Turkish outfit did a commendable job of smothering the space down the middle. Reading the game, Jorge Jesus introduced  Gelson Martins into the action in place of Montero, bringing João Mário into a more central role in a move that saw Sporting almost instantly improve.

Sporting started the second-half with more possession, but passes continued to go wayward. Quaresma made the most of a hashed counter-attack to put a ball across the face of goal that Mario Gomez comfortably converted on to open scoring. Facing an uphill battle, Jesus brought on Teo Gutiérrez and the tables soon turned in the hosts' favour. After a warning shot on 63 minutes that ended up just over the bar, Slimani struck three minutes later after showing nerve to stretch for a pass from Ruiz to beat the onrushing Zengin. On 72 minutes, Bryan Ruiz completed the turnaround with a low drive that the Besiktas keeper could to little to keep put.

Besiktas could do little but admire the Sporting rally, as Gelson's speed and Teo's movement carved holes in the their defence as the clock ticked over. It was actually the two substitutes who finally finished off the Turks, with showing some brilliant composure to wrong-foot a defender and score Sporting's third.

The win sees Sporting finish in second place in Group H with 10 points, being Lokomotiv Moscow.

Gelson Martins and Bryan Ruiz on Thursday's Europa League win

"We kept looking for the win. We fell behind but we showed character and we didn't give up", is how Gelson summed up his side's 3-1 win against Besiktas in the Europa League on Thursday night.

Bryan Ruiz was also on hand to share his thoughts on the win. "It wasn't an easy game. Besiktas are a great side, but we knew we had to win tonight. It was made that bit harder when we conceded, but we carried on working and we are really happy right now", said the Costa Rican at the final whistle, adding: "We have some tough matches coming up in the league and the cup. We are hoping for another win on Sunday and we will push on from there."

Jorge Jesus praises his team's fighting spirit in 3-1 comeback against Besiktas

Jorge Jesus was understandably full of praise for his side at the final whistle of Thursday's comeback against Besiktas, securing a place in the Europa League knock-out stages.

“The lads worked really hard to win 3-1 after being 1-0 down. We didn't just lay down and accept defeat. I want to highlight the quality of this squad. We played against the top team in Turkey and the second placed team in Russia. Our group had two really strong teams and it really wasn't a Europa League group. We are through, which was our goal, without risking what we are doing domestically", opened Jorge Jesus.

The Sporting coach went on to dedicate the win to president Bruno de Carvalho, before casting his thoughts to coming fixtures: "This one was for the players, the fans and especially the president, because he has changed this club over the last two years. In February the team will be stronger in every competition, because have some time now to work. However, what matters most now is our next game on Sunday."

Jorge Jesus included 18 for Besiktas showdown

Jorge Jesus has named a squad of 18 to face Besiktas this Thursday night, on matchday six of Europa League Group H.

Squad list in full:

Goalkeepers: Rui Patrício and Marcelo Boeck;

Defenders: João Pereira, Ricardo Esgaio, Paulo Oliveira, Naldo, Tobias Figueiredo and Jefferson;

Midfielders: William, Adrien, Aquilani and João Mário;

Forwards: Gelson Martins, Matheus Pereira, Bryan Ruiz, Fredy Montero, Teo Gutiérrez and Slimani.

Sporting-Besiktas will kick off on Thursday the 10th of December at 20h05, in Estádio José Alvalade.

Jorge Jesus ahead of Thursday's hosting of Besiktas

Speaking in a Europa League matchday 6 pre-match press conference, Jorge Jesus warned caution for what is a powerful Besiktas front three, while affirming that his side have some tricks of their own in the race for a spot in the last-32.

“It is a game what will define qualification for Besiktas and Sporting. If we win, we carry on in the competition, which is what we want. We will be facing the team that is in first right now in the Turkish league, they are a strong side and they have three good players up front in Mario Gómez, Quaresma and Töre. Behind them three as well they have Sosa. They have really good players at the top end of the pitch and it won't be easy to stop them, but we are ready", opened the Alvalade boss, going on to comment on the usual subject of squad rotation: "We have reached the final game and we can still qualify, but that doesn't change my mind about the Europa League, which is an important competition for us. The domestic league is the most important thing anywhere in the world, but that won't take away from our responsibility tomorrow."

Revealing that Ewerton will not be available and that Teo Gutiérrez will be a late call tomorrow, Jesus also commented on the press linking Quaresma to Alvalade: "Nobody has any doubt that most Sporting fans would like to have Quaresma back. It has only come up to sell newspapers."