RIGA — News coming out of the Ventspils camp is promising going into their UEFA Europa league clash with Sporting Clube de Portugal in Riga on Thursday evening.

Sporting are currently sitting on top of group D, courtesy of victories in their first two matches whilst Ventspils are the only other unbeaten team in the pool, having produced two draws.

Ventspils will be playing a first string line up on Thursday with no injuries in the camp. Everyone has pulled up fine from national duties and recent games in the Virslīga.

The game also holds extra significance for Ventspils forward João Martins who began his career at Sporting as part of their football academy. He will be out to prove a point that they should not  have released him in the first place, whilst also confiding to uefa.com that that club still holds a special place in his heart.

It is expected to be a chilly evening in Riga tomorrow night which will suit the home side just fine, knowing that the Portuguese are used to warmer conditions.

It is the first side that clubs from Portugal and Latvia have met although their national teams have met on previous occasions. Whilst Sporting hold favoritism with the  bookies, Ventspils will be happy to go into the game with the underdog tag, knowing they are more than capable of pulling off an upset victory.