Sporting Clube de Portugal vs Borussia Dortmund - Borussia Dortmund focus on importance of Sporting Lisbon clash

Borussia Dortmund have travelled to Lisbon earlier than usual to prepare for Tuesday's Champions League clash against Sporting, with the Germans believing their back-to-back matches with the Portuguese could be key to their fate in Group F.

Dortmund are currently top of the group on four points, but they are only ahead of Real Madrid on goal difference while Sporting are just a point behind.

With a trip to reigning European champions Madrid still to come, Dortmund know their hopes of a top-two finish could well depend on what happens in their two matches against Sporting in the next fortnight.

And with that in mind, the Westphalians have broken with tradition and flew out to Lisbon on Sunday evening to give themselves more preparation time for the encounter at the Jose Alvalade stadium.

Dortmund's director of sport, Michael Zorc, said on his club's website: "This way, we can focus better on recovery (from the weekend) and things are not so hectic when we get over there.

"These two games against Lisbon are going to be very significant for the outcome of the group.

"It's about ensuring we are better than them in the head-to-head."

Thomas Tuchel's men go into the game without a win in three matches, having drawn with Madrid 2-2 at home before picking up just one point from a possible six in Bundesliga fixtures against Bayer Leverkusen and Hertha Berlin.

Before that disappointing run, though, Dortmund had won four games on the trot while scoring 20 goals - including a 6-0 away mauling of Legia Warsaw in their Champions League opener.

And it is a return to that sort of form that Zorc hopes to see in Lisbon, adding: "We played a good game in Warsaw and won that clearly, and it would be nice if we could deliver a similar performance on Tuesday."

Lukasz Piszczek and Sokratis Papastathopoulos were both on board Sunday's flight and coach Tuchel will hope to have them back after they missed Friday's 1-1 draw with Hertha.

Sporting have had one extra day to prepare for Tuesday's match, with their last game being a 1-0 win over Famalicao in the Portuguese Cup last Thursday.

Coach Jorge Jesus was even able to rotate his team for that fixture, including leaving former Wolfsburg forward Bas Dost on the bench.

The 27-year-old Holland international should be fresh to face Dortmund, though, and will also be able to give Jesus a helping hand in his planning for the game.

"His knowledge of German football can be very valuable," Jesus told Germany's Kicker magazine.

"These two games against Dortmund are going to decide who will finish second in the group."

Jesus is without midfielder Adrien Silva, who misses out with a knee injury.