Pedro Mendes is confident Sporting Lisbon can knock Everton out of the Europa League.
Portuguese confident, despite trailing ahead of second leg
Pedro Mendes is confident Sporting Lisbon can knock Everton out of the Europa League when they meet for the second leg of their last-32 tie.
The Toffees are in Portugal for Thursday's return meeting with Carlos Carvalhal's team and they hold a narrow 2-1 advantage following the initial match at Goodison Park.
But Sporting have plenty of reasons for optimism ahead of kick-off at the Jose Alvalade having grabbed what could be a crucial away goal through Miguel Veloso's late penalty on Merseyside.
Former Portsmouth and Tottenham midfielder Mendes said: "We can eliminate Everton. This will not be easy, but we achieved a good scoreline in England.
Morale boost
"We need one goal, but that would change the game. It is possible to score in 90 minutes, although, personally, I would like to score early on.
"This Sporting team is not inferior to Everton. We know our rivals and it is possible to exploit the key points in their team."
He added: "The morale in the squad has increased and we think it is possible to go very far in the competition."
Veloso told Uefa's
official website: "The campaign has not been going well for us in the championship, but we will do everything to ensure that it will go well in the Europa League, and also to save this season a bit.
"If the game had stayed 2-0 it would have been more difficult for us, but this way we can compete in the match at the Alvalade, our home, and try to get through to the next round."
