Good evening! Thank you very much for joining Sports Mole for tonight's Champions League Group D clash between Sporting Lisbon and Barcelona at the Estadio Jose Alvalade!

This match pits the top two in Group D against each other after both sides impressed on their way to victory on matchday one, each scoring three goals against Olympiacos and Juventus respectively. Both have been in fine form on the domestic front too, so this promises to be a high-quality contest this evening.

Before we take a closer look at the two teams, though, let's first check out the team news...

SPORTING LISBON STARTING XI: Rui Patrício; Piccini, Mathieu, Coates, Coentrão; Acuña, William, Battaglia, Gelson; Bruno Fernandes; Doumbia

BARCELONA STARTING XI: Ter Stegen; Semedo, Pique, Umtiti, Alba; Rakitic, Busquets, Roberto, Iniesta; Suarez, Messi

BARCELONA SUBS: Cillessen, Denis, Mascherano, Paulinho, Digne, André Gomes, Aleix Vidal

What can we make of those two sides, then?

Well, the hosts have a clean bill of health for this evening's match and sure enough name a strong starting XI for the visit of the mighty Barcelona. It is a side which includes Jeremy Mathieu, who joined Sporting from Barca during the summer and has since criticised some of the club's hierarchy. The Frenchman made 63 league appearances during his time at the Camp Nou, scoring three goals.

There is plenty of pace and power in that Sporting side, not least up front where Seydou Doumbia leads the line once again, with Bruno Fernandes also in support.

Perhaps the main threat for the home side will be Gelson Martins, though, with the 22-year-old winger enjoying a growing reputation in football. He was linked with a move to Liverpool during the summer and has scored three goals in his four league outings so far this season.

Bruno Fernandes drew a blank during the 1-1 stalemate on Saturday, but the striker has been on a hot streak in front of goal recently, scoring in Sporting's previous four outings before then and notching six from the previous six.

Further back in midfielder there are starts for William Carvalho - another highly-rated midfielder who has been linked with a move away in recent years - and Battaglia. Acuna, who is an international teammate of Messi and Mascherano for Argentina, completes the midfield.

In all, Sporting have made three changes to the side that drew at the weekend, with Battaglia, Acuna and Doumbia coming into the side, but just one change from the side that began their 3-2 win over Olympiacos on matchday one.

That switch comes at left-back as Fabio Coentrao starts having previously played for Real Madrid, of course. The Portuguese full-back was a Madrid player for six years, so this fixture will carry a little more importance for him.

As for Barcelona, there is usually only one place to start, and that is with Lionel Messi.

The Argentine was at his dazzling best on matchday one with two goals and effectively an assist to fire Barcelona past Juventus, maintaining his stunning form so far this season. There were questions raised about how Barcelona would deal with the loss of Neymar, but with Messi in your team you are always going to have the best at your disposal.

Messi has 12 goals in 11 outings for club and country so far this season, with four of those coming in the 6-1 win over Eibar earlier this month. Needless to say, the Argentine is again in the final three nominees for FIFA's 'The Best' award, alongside perennial rival Cristiano Ronaldo and former teammate Neymar.

One player who isn't far away from those three is Luis Suarez. The Uruguayan was the only Barcelona player on the scoresheet at the weekend and remains arguably the deadliest number nine in world football at the moment.

Ernesto Valverde has made three changes to the side that beat Girona in their first ever La Liga meeting at the weekend, with Pique, Semedo and roberto coming into the side.

Mascherano, Vidal and Paulinho are the men to drop out for that trio, with Sergi Roberto maintaining his place but seemingly starting a little further forward than at the weekend due to the presence of Semedo. It looks as though Barca will again go for a 4-4-2 formation having switched to that system since losing Dembele to injury.

Speaking of Dembele, the injured youngster's absence is the only change to the Barcelona side which started against Juventus on matchday one, with Sergi Roberto the man to come in for him.

Even with the absence of Dembele, there is plenty of quality in this Barcelona side, with Iniesta still capable of unlocking any defence in world football on his day. There are plenty of players for the hosts to look out for tonight!

The hosts will know that they head into this match as underdogs - which isn't something that happens all too often for them in a home game, particularly on the domestic front.

Sporting will still be confident, though, having made a blistering start to the season. The home side are still yet to taste defeat in any competition this term, winning eight and drawing three of their 11 matches - including eight wins from their first nine games of the campaign.

Back-to-back draws in their last two games have seen Sporting's form slow down a little over the past week, and they needed an own goal to come from behind and draw against struggling Moreirense on Saturday.

Those were their first dropped points of the season in the league, but unfortunately for them they weren't the only team to have made a 100% start to the campaign and the draw saw them drop two points behind the perfect Porto at the top of the table. Only Porto have scored more and conceded fewer than them this season too.

Even so, Sporting's six wins from their opening six games was their best start to a league season since 1993-94, when they were under the tutelage of future Barca boss Sir Bobby Robson, so things could certainly have been worse for them so far.

A draw or a defeat this evening would see them go three games without a win for the first time since January, although against a team the quality of Barcelona I'm sure they would regard a third straight draw as a fairly satisfactory result.

Sporting have already been dealt a tough hand in this season's competition having been drawn in the same group as Barca and Juventus, and if they are to make it into the last 16 then their home form is surely going to need to be the foundation for it.

Jorge Jesus's side have conceded just one goal from their five home games this season, but they have also only scored five goals, failing to score in two of their games. Indeed, two of their three draws this term have come in front of their own fans, so they have actually been more impressive on the road so far this season.

Stretching further back, though, Sporting have only lost one of their 14 home games across all competitions so far this calendar year, so this is not an easy place to come by any means.

Sporting have lost their last two Champions League home games - against Dortmund and Real Madrid - and another loss this evening would make it three in a row for the first time in more than a decade. Last season Sporting won five of their six group games, but their solitary victory did come at home.

A win for Sporting, on the other hand, would see them pick up back-to-back triumphs in the group stages of this competition for the first time since November 2014 following their 3-2 victory over Olympiacos on matchday one.

The final scoreline of that made the game look a lot closer than it was too. Sporting could have been five or six up by half time, instead settling for a 3-0 lead before the interval, and it was only a couple of late goals from Pardo that made things look a little more respectable for the Greek hosts.

Sporting have not had a huge amount of joy against Spanish opponents in recent years, though, losing each of their last three meetings including a 2-1 home defeat at the hands of Real Madrid last season which confirmed their elimination from the competition in the group stages.

The Portuguese outfit have only won one of their last 10 European meetings with teams from Spain, losing six of those and still being eliminated from the tie which provided that solitary win - a 2-1 triumph over Athletic Bilbao in the semi-finals of the 2011-12 Europa League.

The omens look quite promising for Barcelona, then, and the form book suggests that they will come into this match in even more confident mood than their hosts.

While Sporting have slipped up with back-to-back draws to bring an end to their winning run, Barcelona have been relentless so far this season and come into this match off the back of seven consecutive wins across all competitions, scoring 23 goals and conceding just twice in the process.

It was a difficult summer for Barcelona - more so than any recent summer - as they lost Neymar to Paris Saint-Germain against their will and failed to bring in a number of possible replacements, including Philippe Coutinho from Liverpool.

Back-to-back defeats against arch-rivals Real Madrid in the Super Cup then piled more misery on the club as Ernesto Valverde's troubled start continued, but since then it has been all smiles and Barca are already looking good bets for trophies at home and abroad.

Needless to say considering their 100% record this season, Barcelona sit top of the pile in La Liga with 18 points from six matches, leaving them four points clear of Atletico and already seven above reigning champions Real Madrid.

Seven points is a substantial gap in any division, but in La Liga it could possibly be an insurmountable one already. Barcelona do not drop points all too often throughout the course of a campaign, and for Real Madrid to make up that seven-point gap is already a big ask.

Barca are one of only three teams with a perfect record in Europe's top five leagues, along with Napoli and Juventus in Serie A, and they are the only one of those sides to have carried that 100% start into Europe.

They did so in some style too, with a 3-0 victory over last season's beaten finalists Juventus on matchday one leaving them top of Group D. It gave Barca an element of revenge over the side that knocked them out in the quarter-finals last season, not to mention sending out a statement to the rest of Europe that they are still a force to be reckoned with.

Should Barca make it two wins out of two in Group D this evening then it would see them stretch their winning run to eight matches across all competitions for the first time since March 2016, but they have won just two of their last Champions League outings - not as dominant a tally as you would expect from a team of their stature.

Those two wins have been memorable ones - beating PSG 6-1 and Juventus 3-0 - but they have also suffered heavy defeats to both of those sides in that time in addition to a home draw against the latter.

Indeed, Barcelona have lost their last two Champions League away games without scoring a single goal, conceding seven in the process following a 4-0 defeat in Paris and 3-0 loss in Turin last season.

They have not lost three Champions League away games on the bounce since March 2005, but they have lost three of their last four away outings and four of their last six on the road. Indeed, looking even further back Barca have won just four of their last 11 trips in this competition, which is a record they will need to improve if they are to lift the trophy again this season.

Away form has not been a problem for them across all competitions, though, and Barca have won six of their last seven on the road, with the only defeat coming against Real Madrid in the Super Cup.

Another win would see them string together four away victories on the bounce for the first time almost exactly a year, while also putting them another step towards reaching the last 16 yet again. This is Barca's record-equalling 22nd Champions League group stage campaign, and they last failed to reach the last 16 in 2000-01.

PREDICTION: Right, we're 10 minutes away from kickoff at the Estadio Jose Alvalade, so it is about time I made a prediction!

This game sees two confident and in-form sides go up against each other, but sporting don't often come up against teams of Barcelona's quality and - when they do - they usually fall short. The hosts won't make it easy, but I'll have to go for an away win tonight.

Sports Mole says: Sporting Lisbon 0-2 Barcelona

These two sides have only met on two previous occasions in the Champions League, both of which came in the 2008-09 season, and both of which ended in victory for Barcelona.

The Blaugrana's last visit here saw them run out 5-2 winners over the 10 men of Sporting, with Messi and Pique amongst those on the scoresheet alongside Henry and Bojan. The reverse, meanwhile, saw Marquez, Eto'o and Xavi score as Barcelona won 3-1 at the Camp Nou in a season which would end with them lifting the trophy.

Sporting also faced Barcelona in the second round of the 1987-88 UEFA Cup before too, picking up their solitary win against the Spanish giants in that tie with a 2-1 victory at home. Barcelona still progressed into the third round on goal difference though having won the first leg 1-0 at the Camp Nou.

Sporting's home record against Spanish teams is actually quite impressive, with six wins and just three defeats from their 11 such outings.

Barcelona, though, are unbeaten in their last 14 matches against Portuguese opposition home and away, winning 11 of those games in a run which stretches back to the first round of that 1987-88 UEFA Cup campaign. Their most recent trip to Portugal came in the 2012-13 Champions League group stages, when they won 2-0 to make it four wins, three draws and four defeats from their 11 visits to these shores.

Right, the players are out and we're just about ready to go here. A reminder of the team news before we get started...

SPORTING LISBON STARTING XI: Rui Patrício; Piccini, Mathieu, Coates, Coentrão; Acuña, William, Battaglia, Gelson; Bruno Fernandes; Doumbia
BARCELONA STARTING XI: Ter Stegen; Semedo, Pique, Umtiti, Alba; Rakitic, Busquets, Roberto, Iniesta; Suarez, Messi

KICKOFF: Here we go, then! Sporting get us underway at the Estadio Jose Alvalade!

As expected, Barcelona have started with a 4-4-2 formation tonight, with Iniesta out on the left - although he is likely to tuck inside often rather than stay out on that flank.

UPDATE: There have been a flurry of early goals in the Champions League tonight - including one in the glamour tie between Paris Saint-Germain and Bayern Munich where Dani Alves has given the French outfit the lead.

Romelu Lukaku has continued his hot streak in front of goal by opening the scoring against CSKA Moscow, while Basel are ahead against Benfica, which will delight Sporting fans.

YELLOW CARD! Gelson Martins picks up an early yellow card for the home side for a high challenge on Busquets.

Suarez almost joins him in the book immediately for a late challenge, but his apologies seem to get him out of a yellow card.

Barcelona win a free kick out on the right touchline and Messi swings a fine cross in towards the back post that has Rui Patricio unsure whether to come or go. Messi may even be going for goal himself there, but the ball swings just past the far post and Suarez is unable to keep it in. That would have been outrageous from Messi.

The Sporting fans are not happy here - the linesman's flag goes up against Suarez, but when the striker actually gets to the ball it goes back down and play is allowed to continue. Fortunately for the officials nothing comes of it, because that would have been very controversial.

Sporting have their first chance to test the Barcelona defence as they win a free kick in a good position. Too far to shoot, but they can get the ball in the box here...

A lofted cross into the box finds Mathieu in plenty of space, but his knockdown is eventually dealt with. Not the most convincing defending from the visitors there, though.

SHOT! Sights of goal have been few and far between tonight, and this is the best we have had so far. A loose ball breaks to Suarez around 25 yards from goal, but his first-time effort is too high to worry Rui Patricio.

SHOT! Sporting respond with a long-range effort of their own as Piccini cuts inside from the right flank and unleashes a powerful strike from range which flies over the bar.

SAVE! Better from Barcelona as their front two finally work together well for the first time tonight. Alba's run creates the chance and his pass inside is dummied by Suarez for Messi, but the Argentine does not catch his effort and it is easy for the keeper in the end.

Big block from Umtiti to deny Sporting the opener! It is Battaglia who gets the shot away from the edge of the box, but Umtiti throws himself in the way of it to protect his keeper.

UPDATE: Manchester United are making light work of their tricky-looking trip to Moscow, with Anthony Martial having doubled their advantage from the penalty spot.

Basel, meanwhile, have also made it 2-0 against Benfica.

Sporting are working really hard to keep Barcelona at bay tonight. The hosts have contained their more illustrious visitors so far, with Messi, Suarez and co unable to get going yet.

YELLOW CARD! Coentrao joins Martins in the book for a nasty-looking challenge on Semedo.

SAVES! Rui Patricio has two saves to make in quick succession as he keeps the scores level! The first sees Roberto slip Suarez in, but Patricio gets his angles right to deny the Uruguayan's quick low drive. Barca quickly get the ball back into the box, but Messi's powerful header is straight at the keeper.

SAVE! Ter Stegen is called into his first action of the evening, getting down well to save a low drive from Bruno Fernandes.

Chance for Sporting to test Ter Stegen again here as they win a free kick in a good shooting position...

Fernandes is the man who takes on the free-kick duties, but he slams his effort straight into the wall.

UPDATE: Romelu Lukaku just cannot stop scoring at the moment - he has his 10th of the season to put Manchester United 3-0 up against CSKA Moscow.

Paris Saint-Germain, meanwhile, are now two goals to the good against Bayern Munich courtesy of an Edinson Cavani strike.

This has not been a vintage Barcelona performance so far tonight, but credit has to go to Sporting. They have remained disciplined and organised, which is making life difficult for the visitors.

Crucial touch from Mathieu to deny Barcelona the opener! Messi swings a deep free kick into the box which Pique gets his head to, but as Suarez is shaping to volley it home from close range, Mathieu just glances it away.

YELLOW CARD! Doumbia is the latest name in the book for a dive right on the edge of the box. He stays down and calls for treatment, but the referee has the card in his hand and will show it to the striker. Good decision from the referee - there was no contact from Pique.

If Doumbia is hurt then he did it while throwing himself to the floor, so there is some kind of poetic justice there. The striker will be fine to continue, though.

Patricio needs to be alert here as he races off his line to beat Semedo to the ball inside his area. Good goalkeeping from the Sporting man.

Barcelona have the chance to break and Messi leads the chance, beating one man with a cheeky nutmeg in the process. He then gives the ball out to Rakitic, but the midfielder's pass towards Suarez is poor and the attacking goes begging.

CHANCE! Brilliant block from Coentrao to deny Messi! The Argentine races onto the ball after a lovely dummy from Suarez and beats one defender in the area, but his low drive is blocked by a last-ditch challenge from Coentrao.

SPORTING SUB: Doumbia will not be able to continue after all. He limps off to be replaced by Bas Dost.

There will be two minutes of added time at the end of this first half.

The first half comes to an end at the Estadio Jose Alvalade, then, and we're still all square at the interval following a tight first half.

Barcelona have dominated possession, enjoying 65% of the ball, but chances have been few and far between for either side. Hopefully we will see an improvement in the second half!

The best chance of the match so far fell the way of Suarez, who was slipped in by Roberto inside the box but saw his resulting effort well saved by Rui Patricio. The danger was not over at that point, but the keeper's next save was a routine one moments later when he gathered Messi's header.

It wasn't until the second half that Messi really burst into life against Juventus on matchday one, so Barcelona will be hoping that the same is true this evening. Sporting deserve a lot of credit for their defensive performance so far, though, having given Barca nothing easy tonight.

At the other end there hasn't been much threat from Sporting, but they will be pretty content with coming away from this match with a draw today. Ter Stegen has been tested with a low drive from Fernandes, but aside from that it has only been long-range efforts from the hosts.

Jorge Jesus will still be delighted with what he has seen from his side so far tonight, though.

KICKOFF: Barcelona get us back underway for the second half knowing that they need an improvement if they are to extend their winning streak to eight matches.

YELLOW CARD! Acuna picks up an early yellow card in this second half for a raised arm on Semedo. That seemed to be a decision made by the linesman rather than the referee.

Barcelona benefitted from two own goals at the weekend, and it is another that breaks the deadlock tonight as Sporting's hard work is undone within four minutes of the start of the second half!

Messi's free kick is delivered into a dangerous area as always and Suarez is the first man able to get his head to it. His effort bounces off Coates before going over the line, though, and it will go down as an own goal from the former Liverpool man.

That really is bad luck for Sporting, who had been so disciplined at the back until that point. Barcelona will want to go on and score more having now broken the deadlock, with Sporting needing to take a few more risks now.

YELLOW CARD! Piccini is the latest player in the book for a tug on Iniesta.

Barcelona have taken complete control of possession since that opening goal, despite the home fans whistling whenever their side do not have the ball. Sporting need to hold on and weather this Barca storm.

UPDATE: More updates from elsewhere, including a fourth goal for Manchester United as Henrikh Mkhitaryan has got in on the act.

Basel also now lead Benfica 3-0, whereas Celtic have doubled their lead against Anderlecht.

CHANCE! Brilliant defending from Mathieu to again deny Messi! Suarez send the Argentine through down the right flank, but Messi's touch just allows Mathieu to get his foot to the ball with a last-ditch sliding challenge.

YELLOW CARD! Coates is the latest to go into the book for a challenge on Suarez - Sporting's sixth yellow card of the evening.

Sporting have the chance to break as Battaglia drives forward in space and has Piccini on the right channel in space, but his pass is poor and the attack comes to a standstill.

Sporting have put in a battling performance tonight and have been very difficult to break down for Barcelona, but they haven't offered enough going forward so far and that will need to change if they are to get back into this game.

UPDATE: PSG are making their own statement this evening - they now lead Bayern Munich 3-0, with Neymar getting in on the act. Chelsea are also now level with Atletico Madrid courtesy of an Alvaro Morata strike.

Barcelona have a free kick in a very dangerous position as Mathieu brings down Roberto in Messi territory...

SHOT! It is indeed Messi who goes for goal, but it is not one of his best and he blazes it over the crossbar.

SAVE! Barcelona quickly win the ball back from the resulting goal kick and the ball is fed into the feet of Suarez, who produces a snapshot from the edge of the area which the keeper needs to save.

UPDATE: There has been a goal in Group D's other match tonight as Gonzalo Higuain has given Juventus the lead against Olympiacos. Elsewhere, Basel are now 4-0 up against 10-man Benfica, so Sporting fans will have something to smile about.

This has been a decent spell for Sporting and they have a decent chance for an equaliser here as Dost beats Ter Stegen in the air. The big striker knocks it down into a dangerous area, but there are no Sporting players there to take advantage.

YELLOW CARD! The home fans give the biggest cheer of the night as a Barcelona player finally joins their six in the book. Semedo is the man to be shown the card for a late challenge on Battaglia.

CHANCE! Big chance for Sporting to level things up - their first of the evening! Dost collects a loose ball in the box before laying it off to Fernandes in space. The in-form midfielder should score, but he opts for power and Ter Stegen makes a brilliant save to deny Fernandes.

SPORTING SUBS: A couple of changes for Sporting as they go in search of that equaliser; Acuna and Coentrao make way for Bruno Cesar and Jonathan Silva.

Just 15 minutes remain in this match, and this one is not sewn up for Barcelona just yet. The gap remains just the one goal and Barca haven't shown many signs of adding to that recently. Indeed, it is Sporting who look most like scoring right now.

UPDATE: Juventus have their second in the group's other game, with Mario Mandzukic making it 2-0 in Turin against Olympiacos.

CHANCE! Another decent sight of goal for the hosts as Dost knocks the ball down to William, but he never looks set and he slices his effort well over the crossbar.

BARCELONA SUB: Change from the visitors as Paulinho replaces Iniesta.

Barcelona have been nowhere near as good as you would expect in the final third tonight. Sporting do deserve credit for their defensive performance, but the final ball has not been good enough from Barcelona.

SHOT! The game is being played at a walking pace at the moment as Barcelona just look to keep the ball, but that comes to an end when Paulinho drives a long-range effort well over the crossbar.

This is good game management from Barcelona. It hasn't been a performance of slick passing and dazzling play from them, but they are now just keeping the ball and looking to get the job done. They will be happy with a 1-0 here.

CHANCE! Having said that, it should be 2-0 to Barcelona here! Coates is robbed of possession by Suarez in a very dangerous position and Rakitic immediately plays the ball through for Paulinho. The midfielder tries to poke his finish underneath the keeper, but Patricio makes a very good save.

BARCELONA SUB: Another change for the visitors sees Andre Gomes replace Roberto.

BARCELONA SUB: A third and final change for the visitors sees Aleix Vidal replace Suarez.

There will be three minutes of added time at the end of this match.

The referee brings an end to proceedings at the Estadio Jose Alvalade, then, and it is Barcelona who come away with all three points to take control of Group D with six points from six.

It was not a vintage Barcelona display by any stretch of the imagination, and they needed an own goal from Sebastian Coates to give them the victory, but it is a win nonetheless and their perfect streak now stretches to eight games.

Right, that is all we have time for this evening!

Thank you very much for joining Sports Mole for tonight's match as Barcelona edge past Sporting to take control of Group D. I will leave you with our match report, and be sure to check back in for plenty of Europa League action tomorrow night.

From me, though, it is goodbye for now!