The early kick-off time of 5.45pm has caused concerns there will not be a full house but the Everton captain says past experiences of the club’s supporters leaves him with little doubt Goodison will be packed to capacity to welcome the Portuguese giants.

Having faced Benfica in the Europa League group stages, Neville insists his troops will be well versed on the technical excellence of their Lisbon rivals but says Sporting will not underestimate Everton.

He said: “If Sporting have been watching us over the last month then they will know we are a team that has been playing well and I’m sure the gaffer has done his homework on Sporting Lisbon and we will no doubt be watching lots of videos of them this week.

“We know technically they are going to be a very good side but this is going to have to be the type of night where we produce the atmosphere and performance we did against Chelsea.

“We know foreign teams don’t like playing in that type of atmosphere against that type of intense pressure and if we do that then we will progress to the next round.

“We got well and truly turned over in Fiorentina (in the 2008 UEFA Cup) but when they came back to Goodison you wouldn’t believe the transition and that was because the ground was a cauldron. In these European nights the atmosphere has to be special and the team has to rise to that as well. It is a competition we want to progress in and it is part of a massive February for us.

“The kick-off time is a bit of a pain for all supporters because they will have to leave work early but knowing Evertonians like I do then I know they will get there.

“I have been out to Kharkiv and I thought ‘oh dear me, there will be no Everton fans here’ but 3-4,000 turned up. They will get there by hook or by crook and that is the beauty of this club and I am convinced there will be a full house on Thursday.”