Champions League

LIVE starting at 9 p.m.: LASK vs. Sporting in Lisbon

What’s in store today for Saša Kalajdžić and company?(Bild: GEPA)

Matchday 3 of the Champions League group stage: LASK faces Sporting Lisbon in Portugal. We’ll be covering the game live (see below)!

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In its third attempt, LASK is aiming to earn its first point in the Champions League at the very venue where it once had a moment of glory in European competition. The Linz-based team, which has yet to secure a win, is on the road today against Sporting Lisbon in the third round of the group stage. The Portuguese side has so far taken maximum points from its two appearances in the Champions League. Six months ago, Sporting reached the quarterfinals of the Champions League, where they were eliminated by Arsenal.

Dietmar Kühbauer(Bild: APA-Images / Harald Dostal)

“In terms of quality, Sporting is every bit as good as Liverpool,” said Alessandro Schöpf before leaving Linz. Dietmar Kühbauer boarded the plane with the goal of delivering a strong performance. “If we don’t perform, the bar will be set very high,” the LASK coach acknowledged. Still, it would be “bad if we just went there to see the stadium.”

Linz Triumph 2020
LASK has already made a good impression in the “Lions’” den—it’s been six years since the Athletiker secured a victory at Estadio Jose Alvalade. In the Europa League playoff, they won 4–1, thereby advancing to the group stage. From the October 1, 2020, squad, only Andres Andrade—who came on as a substitute at the time—remains on the Upper Austrian side.

In Portugal, Sporting is part of the “Tres Grandes” (“The Big Three”) alongside FC Porto and Benfica. Lisbon’s green-and-whites have won the league title 21 times (most recently in 2025)—last season, Sporting finished second behind Porto. During the summer transfer window, the club generated revenue of over 200 million euros. Expenditures totaled more than 120 million, though their most expensive signing will be missing on Wednesday: Uruguayan forward Rodrigo Zalazar is injured.

Kühbauer: “Bring the stadium to a standstill”
It’s not just Kühbauer who realizes that the Portuguese side is a step above LASK. “This team has real fire. We have to do better in every aspect if we’re going to get anywhere.” At the Alvalade Stadium, which holds over 50,000 spectators, his team can expect an electric atmosphere. “It would be even better if we could bring the entire stadium to a standstill,” said Kühbauer.

While the Linz team kept another clean sheet in their 4-0 win in Lustenau last weekend—their seventh consecutive competitive match without conceding a goal—they’ll face a tough challenge in that regard in Lisbon. The number one threat for Andrade and Co. is likely to be Luis Suárez: The Colombian has already scored nine goals in ten competitive matches this season. The center forward also found the net in the 3-1 win over Galatasaray and the 2-0 victory in Lens for his team, which remains undefeated in ten competitive matches this season.

The Linz team must—and wants to—step up its game to make its mark in the Champions League. Schöpf cited defensive work as an area needing improvement. Offensively, they need to capitalize on their chances, according to Austria’s World Cup participant. The win in Lustenau was a welcome boost after the past few weeks. But one thing is clear, according to Schöpf: “Lustenau doesn’t have the quality of Lisbon.”