Marking their first-ever Champions League meeting, Sporting Lisbon and Lille will convene at Estadio Jose Alvalade on Tuesday, kicking off the competition's new-look league phase.

Preview:

A growing force on the continental scene, resurgent Sporting have progressed to the knockout stages of UEFA competition for three successive seasons - once in the Champions League and twice in the Europa League.

In the second-tier tournament, the Lisbon club finished second in their group behind eventual champions Atalanta BC, before beating Young Boys 4-2 on aggregate in the knockout-round playoffs to set up a rematch with La Dea in the last 16.

Atalanta came out on top over two legs, but Sporting still went on to complete an impressive campaign in the Primeira Liga, claiming their 20th league title by finishing on 90 points - 10 clear of arch-rivals Benfica.

Though they started the 2024-25 season by losing to Porto in the Portuguese Supertaca, the Lions have a flawless league record so far, with Ruben Amorim resisting plenty of interest from abroad to stay at Estadio Alvalade and oversee five wins from five.

Already five points clear, they have scored 19 goals and conceded just two in the process, with top striker Viktor Gyokeres in fine form - the Swedish star scored his 50th goal in 55 Sporting appearances during a 2-0 home win over Porto.

Returning to the Champions League after one year away, the Lions may be dominant domestically, but they have lost seven of their last 12 European matches in Lisbon. That record will surely have to improve if they are to survive the 36-team league phase.

Lille last featured in the Champions League proper three years ago, when they reached the knockout stages for just the second time to date, topping their group before losing to Chelsea in the last 16.

Indeed, Les Dogues have never been beyond that point in UEFA's top club competition, but they did reach the Europa Conference League quarter-finals last season, only exiting on penalties to Aston Villa.

They had previously gone unbeaten, winning five games and drawing three, but dreams of glory once again faded for the Ligue 1 side.

Lille have won just two of their last nine away games in Europe, but an extra-time penalty from Jonathan David was enough to send them through in Istanbul last month, as they edged past Fenerbahce in the Champions League's third qualifying round.

Soon after, the French club came through a tough playoff tie against Slavia Prague, winning 3-2 on aggregate to book their place at Europe's top table.

Having replaced Milan-bound coach Paulo Fonseca with Bruno Genesio during the summer, after finishing fourth in Ligue 1 last term, Lille won their first two league fixtures before losing the next two, most recently suffering a 1-0 defeat at Saint-Etienne on Friday.

Ahead of hosting mighty Real Madrid on the second matchday, Genesio's men will be keen to put a halt to that downturn by upsetting Sporting.

Casualty list:

Sporting Lisbon

3 (Central Defender) J.Ani

13 (Goalkeeper) Vladan Kovacevic

72 (Central Defender) Eduardo Quaresma

Lille

14 (Central Defender) Umtiti

6 (midfielder) Bentaleb

31 (left back) Ismaili

7 (left winger) Haken Anal Haraldsson

17 (Defensive midfielder) Ngar El Moukau

29 (Central Midfielder) Ethan Mbappe

possible starting lineup: