Real Madrid have not yet secured their path to the Champions League knockout rounds, but they have the chance to do exactly that on Tuesday as they travel across the Iberian peninsula from Spain’s capital to Portugal’s to face Sporting Clube de Portugal in a crucial clash.
Real Madrid vs. Sporting Lisbon 2016: Start time, live stream, TV schedule, and 3 things to know
Sporting are almost certainly not going on to the Champions League knockout rounds, but they can still bloody Real Madrid’s nose before they go down.
Madrid are second in the group with eight points, two behind already-qualified Borussia Dortmund and five ahead of Sporting. A draw would be enough to see Madrid through to the Champions League round of 16, though a win would be better as it would give them a better shot at winning the group.
Sporting, on the other hand, still have a shot at advancing themselves — a narrow one, but a chance at it nonetheless. They’d have to beat Real Madrid in this match, then win in Poland against Legia Warsaw in the final group match while hoping that Dortmund beat Real. It would take a minor miracle for that to happen, but we’ve seen crazier things happen in the Champions League, and we know that Sporting are not going to back down as long as they have any chance at all.
TV: Fox Sports 2 (U.S. - English), Fox Deportes (U.S. - Spanish), RTP 1, Sport TV4 (Portugal), Antena 3, TV3 (Spain)
Online: Fox Soccer 2GO, Fox Sports Go (U.S.)
Match Date/Time: Tuesday, 2:45 p.m. ET, 7:45 p.m. local
Venue: Estádio José Alvalade, Lisbon, Portugal
Three big things to know
- Sporting gave Real Madrid one hell of a scare when last these teams met, with the Spaniards having to mount a late two-goal comeback to get all three points. While the Portuguese side haven’t played as well since then, they’ve still shown that they’re a team that you have to take seriously, and they’re not going to go down without a fight in this match, especially not at home.
- Toni Kroos being out injured will hurt Real Madrid. He’s been arguably their best player this season, with his calm in possession and underrated creative and defensive play proving crucial to keeping Real afloat at times when they’ve struggled. It will, however, give Mateo Kovacic a chance to step up and show just how good he’s becoming, and if he plays as well as he’s capable the Croatian midfielder will force a lot more playing time for himself.
- Cristiano Ronaldo is a brace away from a stunning 100 goals in UEFA competitions, and where would it be better for him to hit that mark in the city that he started his career in? Sporting fans still have a lot of love and admiration for Ronaldo, and they would be happy to see him hit that historic mark even if it came at their team’s expense.
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