Ben and Rob's preview - Sporting CP

N17 Live presenter Ben Haines and Club commentator Rob Daly take us through a crucial UEFA Champions League encounter against Sporting Lisbon at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium this evening (8pm).

Remember, victory in this Matchday Five clash will mean we progress into the knockout phase of the competition. Join the chaps tonight on our popular matchday show on SPURSPLAY, where they will be joined by some very special guests - it all starts from 6.55pm!

Ben Haines

"Let's start with Newcastle. Positives first, we always say we want the team to get off to a good start, and that's exactly what happened. If we'd taken one of our chances, I feel it would have been a significantly different game. That's one of the things that sticks out at the moment... when we get in front, we can dominate from there, as we can pick teams off. But it's about earning that right, taking a chance, getting in front and dominating. We did it against Everton, got the breakthrough, but this time around Newcastle got the breakthrough and it felt like an uphill battle. The downside, we didn't create too much at 2-1, and we're missing Deki and Richarlison. The important thing is to push on, bounce back. We've six games now until the break for the World Cup. Antonio has spoken about the idea of getting into a good position and if we're there or thereabouts at that point, every team in the Premier League is then at the mercy of what happens in Qatar, who comes back match fit, players who might come back early, players who go deeper into the tournament and therefore spend more energy, then there's the emotional side of playing in a World Cup. Looking ahead to Sporting CP, and therefore looking at what we learned in Lisbon, okay, it wasn't the best performance, but it wasn't one that warranted a 2-0 defeat, either. We just had that lapse right at the end. We saw something similar at the end when we were 2-0 up against Eintracht Frankfurt in our last match. I'm sure that's something Antonio will have addressed. Marcus Edwards was a big threat for Sporting in Lisbon, and I'm sure he'll feel he's got a point to prove. If we get the win, move on to 10 points, it takes us through to the knockout stage and that gives us an opportunity to rotate in the last group game in Marseille next week (Tuesday 1 November). In fact, if we win and there is a favourable result in Frankfurt v Marseille, we could be in position to clinch top spot in the group. That would be amazing! Let's hope we get over the line and then we can focus on the trip to Bournemouth on Saturday."

Rob Daly

"The fact it's been a couple of defeats in a row does add a little pressure to this game, you don't want it to be three in a row, but the match already has significant importance anyway, knowing that if Spurs win they are through to the Round of 16. It's a massive night. It could be a very different Sporting side to the one Spurs faced on MD2. Ricardo Esgaio and Pedro Goncalves are both suspended... Sporting picked up three red cards in their two matches against Marseille, and lost both, astonishing as they were in control of the group after winning their first two matches. They have no Sebastian Coates, no Luis Neto and Jeremiah St. Juste is reportedly available, but we don't know if he'll be fit enough to play. That fact that Goncalves is suspended also changes the nature of the attack for Sporting. They played with three mobile forwards in Lisbon, including Marcus Edwards, it's now expected that Paulinho, the big striker who came on and scored the opening goal, will start. So, it could be a different back three and different front three from what we saw previously. Looking at potential line-ups, I guess the question is if Antonio Conte sticks with 3-5-2 and Harry Kane and Heung-Min Son in attack, or switches to 3-4-3 and we see Lucas Moura come in. When he did that against Newcastle, Lucas didn't just play wide right, he played almost as a number 10 behind Kane and Son, operating in close proximity to them. I'm not sure what Antonio will do, but I'm guessing he might be tempted to do that, which also matches up with Sporting. Crucially, and Ben hinted it at, the situation is in Spurs' hands in terms of qualifying on MD5, which is a great position to be in. Win, Spurs are through and if Spurs win and Marseille lose in Frankfurt, not impossible, then Spurs win the group. That gives the chance to rotate on MD6. It is also important to win the group, as it gives you an advantage going into the knockout draw."