Jorge Jesus looks ahead to Friday's CTT Cup encounter

Tickets offered to Gamebox holders for CTT matchday 2

Friday (30th of December) will see Sporting host Varzim on CTT Cup matchday 2.

2016 was the new Estádio José Alvalade's best year, with an average of 43,281 fans attending 19 Liga NOS matches. A fantastic 87% of capacity!

The year will also be remembered for some other fantastic achievements:

OLYMPIC ATHLETES | Biggest ever participation, with 32 athletes in 9 sports in Rio de Janeiro

CLUB MEMBERS |more than 152,000, which is in the world top 5

SPECTATORS FOR A SINGLE MATCH | 50,046 for Real Madrid CF (new stadium record)

TRANSFERS | Sales of João Mário to Inter Milan for 45M€ (5M€ in objectives)

To thank the fans, especially those who bring life to Alvalade and are Gamebox holders, we are offering tickets for CTT Cup matchday 2 to Gamebox holders. All you need to do is collect your invitation from the club's official website or ticket offices. Tickets are also available for Club Members from 6€ and from 9€ for fans.

. Only Stand A will be open
. Children under the age of 3 are prohibited
. Children over the age of 3 (inclusive) require a ticket)
. Member Fee applicable: November 2016
. Gates open: 19h45

Estádio José Alvalade ticket offices will be open from 10h to 20h.

Jorge Jesus pleased with the three points from his must changed side

Jorge Jesus proved happy with his side's 1-0 CTT Cup win against Arouca this Wednesday night, in a match which saw the Alvalade coach ring the changes.

"Every player in the squad is important and that is why we made the decision to give the lads a run out tonight. We achieved our objectives for this match and it was a really positive night for us. The intensity dropped off in the last 15 minutes and you could see that both sides were tired. We could have done better collectively at times, but that is part if the growth of any squad", opened the Sporting CP coach, adding a further analysis on his rotation: "When you have a squad of 25 players and you are in various competitions, you have to give the everyone a chance or risk losing motivation. We have never won the League Cup and honestly this competition should have a Europa League place for the winner, which would make it more competative."

Speaking about the apparently injury to Luc Castaignos, Jesus prefers to wait for the results of scans before commenting: "It was a shock with the goalkeeper and he hit his knee. Frederico Varandas, who is a great doctor, will look at him tomorrow. Castaignos looked like he was trying to avoid contact a bit an unfortunately and it resulted in not scoring and getting injured."

Alan Ruiz strike secures three points in CTT Cup opener

"Força Chapecoense", the chant spread around the Estádio José Alvalade in tribute to the Brazilian side after this week's tragic events in Colombia. There was no shortage of tributes to Marcelo Boeck too, who is currently on loan with Chapecoense but who did not travel with the team.

After a minute's silence, the game got off to roaring start, with Rui Sacramento slapping away a shot from Elias. Sancidino responded a minute later for Arouca, but hit shot finished up the wrong side of the post.

On 10 minutes Alan Ruiz tried to steer a free-kick towards goal, but to little success. Five minutes later Markovic charged forward with possession and eventually released Alan Ruiz, who had the vision to find Joel Campbell down the left flank. The Costa Rican threw a poisonous looking cross into the box, but Scramento comfortably brought the move to an end with a secure safe.

Again Arouca rallied down the other end almost instantly and Vitor managed to ghost his way past various players before being robbed of possession by Elias. A free-kick on the half-hour mark gave Douglas golden opportunity with an unmarked header, but his effort proved off target. Campbell fired another shot wide of the mark on 34 minutes and with one minute left before the break Crivellaro stole back possession and Vítor broke through on goal, only to be denied by Beto once again. If you don't put your goals away then you always run the risk of conceding and Alan Ruiz obliged with a brilliant touch into space and low placed shot seconds before the whistle.

André could have made it two shortly after the restart after a latching on to the rebound from a Petrovic header, but he drove his shot straight at the Arouca keeper. Risking more going forward in search of an equaliser, Arouca began to leave space at the back and Markovic made the most of it to start bombarding the visiting 18-yard box with venomous crosses. Castaignos really could have made it two with a quarter of an hour left, after an inch-perfect pass from Campbell, but in the end the solo strike from Ruiz proved enough to seal the points.

Jesus announces squad for CTT Cup matchday 1

Jorge Jesus has announced his squad list for CTT Cup matchday 1, which will see Sporting CP host Arouca in Alvalade at 18h15 on Wednesday.

Squad list in full:

34 – Beto Pimparel
26 – Azbe Jug

3 – Lazar Markovic
4 – Jefferson
7 – Joel Campbell
8 – Petrovic
11 – Bruno César
13 – Sebastian Coates
15 – Paulo Oliveira
16 – André Felipe
19 – Douglas Teixeira
20 – Luc Castaignos
21 – João Pereira
22 – Elias Trindade
25 – Marcelo Meli
47 – Ricardo Esgaio
73 – Matheus Pereira
99 – Alan Ruiz

Jorge Jesus looking to set the pace in CTT Cup opener

Three games stand in between Sporting CP and a place in the CTT Cup knock-out stages. In Jorge Jesus' way are Varzim, Arouca and V. Setúbal and the Alvalade coach is looking to start off on the right foot this week against Lito Vidigal's team.

Sales information for coming two home fixtures

Sporting Clube de Portugal will begin ticket sales this Monday for two coming home fixtures (ticket offices open from 10h00 to 20h00) as follows:

CTT CUP - AROUCA | WEDNESDAY 30TH OF NOVEMBER AT 18H15

This match is not included in Gamebox packages. Tickets start at 3€ for Gamebox holders, 6€ for Club Members and 9€ for fans. Members need to have paid October fees to take advantage of discount prices. Only Stand A will be open for the match.

LIGA NOS - SETÚBAL | SATURDAY 3RD OF DECEMBER AT 18H15

Sporting CP vs Vitória FC, on Liga NOS matchday 12, is this season's Supporters' Club match. Tickets will only be available for the central stand, priced from 16€ for Club Members and from 22€ for fans. Members need to have paid November fees to take advantage of discount prices.

Arouca, V. Setúbal and Varzim drawn for Sporting CP