While his side may be sweeping all before them, Barcelona coach Ernesto Valverde remains determined to keep everyone grounded.
“At the start of the season people were saying we were a disaster, now that we are winning games it has all changed,” Valverde said at a press conference in Lisbon on Tuesday evening.
“I know the media noise around Barcelona – if you win everything is good, if you lose it is the opposite.
“But for us it is about focusing on the next game and not dwelling on the past.”
Valverde will not take Sporting’s challenge lightly.
He added: “This will be a difficult game. They are a very strong team, very quick, so we will have to be careful with their wide players and also wary of them on the counter-attack, because they are dangerous there too.”
ends