It was a disappointing week for Portugal’s three Champions League participants, with Porto, Sporting and Benfica all losing, albeit by a single goal against strong opposition.

Sporting fans must be getting tired of “moral victories”. The Lions were denied a positive result against one of Europe’s top teams yet again as a late goal by Mario Mandzukic completed a Juventus comeback in Turin.

Sérgio Conceição and Rui Vitória selected young goalkeepers with no Champions League experience for Porto and Benfica respectively, and while both Mile Svilar and José Sá acquitted themselves well for the most part, each made a mistake that cost a goal.

Benfica welcome José Mourinho’s Manchester United to the Estádio da Luz tomorrow with the Portuguese champions in desperate need of a positive result to keep their hopes alive of staying in the Champions League beyond Christmas.

United remain unbeaten in all competitions this season and appear to be on the way back to past glories after several years in the doldrums.

Manchester United expert Nick Poole gives PortuGOAL the lowdown on United’s team, and also talks about the strong Portuguese connections at the Old Trafford club, from the current coach to Joel Pereira, Cristiano Ronaldo and more.

Sporting travel to Turin today ahead of a daunting Champions League appointment against Juventus on Wednesday evening.

Beaten finalists in two of the last three seasons in the world’s greatest club competition, and 6-time Italian champions, Juve boast scintillating star players such as strike duo Paulo Dybala and Gonzalo Higuaín.

However, the “Old Lady” have not been as dominant this season, and come into the match on the back of a rare home defeat on Saturday, 2-1 to Lazio. Juventus expert Rav Gopal, founder of Juvefc.com tells PortuGOAL what Sporting can expect.

After the international break and a weekend of Portuguese Cup action, attention now turns to the Champions League with a potentially thrilling tie in store on Tuesday night in Germany between RB Leipzig and FC Porto.

Porto have been in superb form this season, winning 9 drawing 1 and losing 1 of their 11 matches in all competitions, but now face a tough task as Sérgio Conceição’s team travel to one of Europe’s emerging forces.

Leipzig currently lie in third place in the Bundesliga and have built a reputation for their fast-paced attacking approach. PortuGOAL’s Matthew Marshall, currently stationed in Germany, runs the rule over Ralph Hasenhüttl’s outfit.