Should Dortmund fear Sporting Lisbon?
Sporting was undoubtedly a force to be reckoned with Ruben Amorim behind the wheel. Despite their season opener 4-3 loss to Porto at the Super Cup Final, the Lions were invincible in the season with 16 wins and one draw, including a sound 4-1 home win against Pep Guardiola's Man City. But with Amorim's departure, Sporting took a while to return to winning ways.
After Amorim's last game against Braga (4-2), former Sporting B manager João Pereira was chosen to replace Amorim. Following a 6-0 win against Amarante in the Portuguese Cup in Pereira's first match, the Lions lost four in a row, including two in the Champions League: against Arsenal (5-1) and Brugge (2-1). Less than two months after replacing Amorim, Pereira was dismissed, and the Lions seem lost without their former star manager.
However, matters got better following the appointment of Rui Borges from Vitória de Guimarães. Rui started brilliantly, winning his first match as Sporting's manager precisely against Benfica in a home Lisbon derby (1-0). With five wins, three draws, and one loss record, Borges attempts to maintain the winning structure Sporting had with Amorim; at the same time, he implements his style on the team. The Lions still lead the Portuguese league by six points ahead of Benfica and Porto while aiming to ruin BVB's plans in the Champions League.
In tactical terms, Rui Borges has depleted Amorim's original back-three system at Sporting, establishing a 4-4-1-1. He likes using attack-oriented fullbacks, including Ivan Fresneda, former BVB target, as one of the highlights in Borges's campaign. Sporting usually sets up in a double-pivot in the midfield while having pacey and agile wingers like Geny Catamo and Quenda. The star of the show is certainly Viktor Gyökeres, who partners up with Francisco Trincão, a former Barcelona player, playing as a creative center-attacking midfielder.
However, Rui Borges and Sporting have had some injury issues in the past three months, with important players like Pedro Gonçalves and Nuno Santos out since October/November. 2025 has also been relentless for the Lions, including some other relevant pieces out due to injury, like Morita, Bragança, Gyökeres, Geny Catamo, and the young star defender Quaresma. Even though Sporting has accumulated injured players, there is a fair chance some of those key pieces will be available for the UCL playoffs in February.
Rui Borges has had a good run at Sporting until now. The young manager (43) is known for his 'optimizing profile,' doing more with less and elevating the level of players wherever he goes. He has had good results in the Portuguese league. Still, Borges needs to find his first win for Sporting in an international competition, losing to Leipzig away (2-1) and drawing against Bologna at home (1-1) in the UCL League Phase.
We hope that doesn't happen against Dortmund, but the matter of fact is that Sporting has found a new light with Rui Borges. They are indeed a team in transition and have a better record in the league than on the international stage, but so is Dortmund. Despite an overall better squad than Sporting, I predict Dortmund will have a hard time at the playoffs, as the Black-and-Yellows need to neutralize the Lions' main weapons if they want to advance to the round of 16.