UEFA EUROPA LEAGUE - 2015/16 SEASON MATCH PRESS KITS

José Alvalade - Lisbon Thursday 22 October 2015 19.00CET (18.00 local time) Sporting Clube de KF Skënderbeu Portugal Group H - Matchday 3

Last updated 14/10/2015 18:11CET

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1 Sporting Clube de Portugal - KF Skënderbeu Thursday 22 October 2015 - 19.00CET (18.00 local time) Match press kit José Alvalade, Lisbon

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The bottom two in UEFA Europa League Group H go head-to-head on matchday three as Sporting Clube de Portugal host KS Skënderbeu seeking to mark Jorge Jesus's 100th UEFA club competition game with a win. Previous meetings • The sides are meeting for the first time in UEFA competition and it is Skënderbeu's maiden encounter with Portuguese opponents. • Sporting's only games against Albanian teams were in a 1985/86 UEFA Cup second round tie versus FK Dinamo that they won 1-0 on aggregate. • This is only the fifth fixture between clubs from these nations in UEFA competition. To date, no Albanian side has won (D1 L3) or scored against Portuguese opponents. Form guide • Sporting are without a victory in three European fixtures (D1 L2). Prior to their 3-1 loss to FC Lokomotiv Moskva on matchday one, they had been unbeaten in 20 UEFA Europa League home games (group stage to final). • Skënderbeu are on a four-game losing streak in Europe and failed to score in their first two Group H assignments against Lokomotiv (0-2) and Beşiktaş JK (0-1). • In five previous UEFA Cup and UEFA Europa League group stage campaigns, Sporting have only once failed to make it to the round of 32 – in their most recent campaign, in 2012/13. • Skenderbëu are the first Albanian outfit to feature in the group stage of a major UEFA competition. Trivia and links • The journey from Korce to Lisbon is around 2,550km. • Skënderbeu striker Hamdi Salihi has scored 14 UEFA club competition goals – two more than all of his team-mates combined. • Skënderbeu are one of ten domestic champions in this season's group stage, along with Qarabağ FK (Azerbaijan), APOEL FC (Cyprus), FC Viktoria Plzeň (Czech Republic), FC Midtjylland (Denmark), KKS Lech Poznań (Poland), FK Partizan (Serbia), Celtic FC (Scotland), Molde FK (Norway) and FC Basel 1893 (Switzerland). The coaches • A losing UEFA Europa League finalist with SL Benfica in 2013 and 2014, Jesus unexpectedly left the Eagles for fierce local rivals Sporting this summer. The 61-year-old had started his playing career at Sporting – who his father Virgolino also represented – and had coached Benfica since 2009. • This is Jesus's 100th game as a coach in UEFA club competition. • In charge at Skënderbeu since 2012, was capped 27 times as a midfielder by Albania and spent the bulk of his career at KF Tirana before finishing up in . He won a title as a coach with Tirana too, and has led his current side to glory in the last three Albanian league campaigns.

2 Sporting Clube de Portugal - KF Skënderbeu Thursday 22 October 2015 - 19.00CET (18.00 local time) Match press kit José Alvalade, Lisbon Legend Competitions

Club competitions National team competitions UCL: UEFA Champions League EURO: UEFA European Football Championship ECCC: European Champion Clubs' Cup WC: FIFA World Cup UEL: UEFA Europa League CONFCUP: FIFA Confederations Cup UCUP: UEFA Cup FRIE: Friendly internationals UCWC: UEFA Cup Winners' Cup U21FRIE: Under-21 friendly internationals SCUP: UEFA Super Cup U21: UEFA European Under-21 Championship UIC: UEFA Intertoto Cup U17: UEFA Under-17 Championship ICF: Inter-Cities Fairs Cup U16: UEFA European Under-16 Championship U19: UEFA Under-19 Championship U18: UEFA European Under-18 Championship WWC: FIFA Women's World Cup WEURO: UEFA European Women's Championship Competition stages Other abbreviations F: Final GS: Group stage (aet): After extra time pens: Penalties GS1: First group stage GS2: Second group stage No.: Number og: Own goal 3QR: Third qualifying round R1: First round ag: Match decided on away P: Penalty R2: Second round R3: Third round goals agg: Aggregate R4: Fourth round PR: Preliminary round Pld: Matches played AP: Appearances SF: Semi-finals QF: Quarter-finals Pos.: Position Comp.: Competition R16: round of 16 QR: Qualifying round Pts: Points D: Drawn R32: Round of 32 1QR: First qualifying round R: Sent off (straight red card) DoB: Date of birth 1st: first leg 2QR: Second qualifying Res.: Result ET: Extra Time round sg: Match decided by silver GA: Goals against 2nd: second leg FT: Final tournament goal t: Match decided by toss of a PO: Play-off ELITE: Elite round coin Rep: Replay 3rdPO: Third-place play-off GF: Goals for W: Won PO - FT: Play-off for Final GS-FT: Group stage – final gg: Match decided by golden Y: Booked Tournament tournament goal L: Lost Y/R: Sent off (two yellow Nat.: Nationality cards) N/A: Not applicable f: Match forfeited Statistics -: Denotes player substituted +: Denotes player introduced *: Denotes player sent off +/-: Denotes player introduced and substituted Squad list D: Disciplinary *: Misses next match if booked S: Suspended QUAL: All UEFA qualifiers UEL: Current season total UEFA Europa League appearances from the group stage onwards prior to the current matchday UEL: Total appearances in the UEFA Europa League, group stage to final only UEFA: All-time total appearances in UEFA club competition including qualifying Disclaimer: Although UEFA has taken all reasonable care that the information contained within this document is accurate at the time of publication, no representation or guarantee (including liability towards third parties), expressed or implied, is made as to its accuracy, reliability or completeness. Therefore, UEFA assumes no liability for the use or interpretation of information contained herein. More information can be found in the competition regulations available on UEFA.com.

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