Sporting CP vs Manchester City Preview: Probable Lineups, Prediction, Tactics, Team News & Key Stats

Manchester City will be looking for a first-leg edge when they travel to Portugal on Tuesday night to play Sporting CP in the Champions League Round of 16.

The reigning champions of Portugal and England meet in Europe’s most prestigious club competition as Sporting CP welcome Manchester City to Estádio José Alvalade on Tuesday evening in the UEFA Champions League knockout stages.

Sporting’s hopes of defending their first Primeira Liga title in 19 years were dashed as they enter this game off the back of a 2-2 draw against Sergio Conceicao’s Porto. Both sides brawled with four men being sent off in what was a fiery classic last week. The result left a healthy six-point gap between Sporting CP and league-leaders Porto at the top.

The Portuguese champions finished second behind Ajax in Group C to proceed to the knockout phases of the competition, grabbing nine points from their six matches and securing a Championship last-16 tie against Manchester City despite suffering three defeats in the group stages.

Manchester City defeated Dean Smith’s Norwich City 4-0 in the English Premier League on Saturday, which moved them nine points clear of second-placed Liverpool at the summit. Considered one of the favourites to go all the way in the Champions League, the Cityzens were far from flawless in the group stage and lost two of their six matches. However, their tally of 12 points was enough to top Group A ahead of Paris Saint-Germain.

The Manchester giants suffered a crushing 1-0 defeat when they last visited Sporting in the Europa League back in 2012. Ahead of the latest meeting between the two sides, The Hard Tackle will take a closer look at both teams.

Team News & Tactics

Sporting CP

Sporting manager Ruben Amorim is hopeful that star forward Pedro Goncalves will be able to shrug off a muscular issue to start Tuesday’s contest. The 23-year-old has been integral to the Lions’ attack, scoring 13 times and providing nine assists in all competitions this term. Aside from that, the team has come out unscathed following a tough battle against Porto and have no fresh injuries or suspensions.

Amorim has done a good job at the helm and is expected to set up Sporting in their usual 3-4-2-1 system. Veteran goalkeeper Antonio Adán should continue to operate between the sticks, with a three-man central defensive unit comprising Sebastián Coates, Zouhair Feddal and Goncalo Inacio slotting in front of him as they hope to keep things tight at the back.

The wing-backs Pedro Porro and Matheus Reis will hold the key in this game and aim to provide width along with defensive assurance. Joao Palhinha and Matheus Nunes are expected to form a double midfield pivot in the middle of the park as they look to break up play and keep track of City’s buzzing midfield runners.

Paulinho will continue to spearhead the Sporting attack down the middle despite competition from Islam Slimani. He will have the likes of Nuno Santos and the in-form PSG loanee Pablo Sarabia operating just behind him to provide the creative impetus.

Probable Lineup (3-4-2-1): Adan; Inacio, Coates, Feddal; Porro, Nunes, Palhinha, Reis; Sarabia, Santos; Paulinho

Manchester City

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola will hope to have Jack Grealish (shin) and Gabriel Jesus (muscular) available for selection against Sporting CP after the duo missed out against Norwich City due to their respective injury issues. But neither player is anticipated to start here.

Guardiola may continue with his preferred 4-3-3 system following his failed experimentations in crucial knockout ties on the continental stage in past years. There is no looking past Ederson Moraes in goal, with the formidable pairing of Aymeric Laporte and Ruben Dias remaining the favourites to feature at the heart of the City backline.

Manchester City will be without right-back Kyle Walker through suspension, which may open the slot for John Stones to feature at right-back, whereas Oleksandr Zinchenko could get a chance to impress at left-back once more; Joao Cancelo is another option off the bench.

Rodri and Kevin De Bruyne were rested at the weekend, and are expected to return to the starting eleven here. Rodri will anchor the midfield from the holding position, while De Bruyne and Bernardo Silva will be tasked to offer the creative edge in the attacking third.

Finally, in attack, Phil Foden will once again lead the line for Manchester City operating in the ‘false-nine’ role, with the Englishman’s sharp movement and link-up play causing a menace for the opposition. Raheem Sterling is a certainty on the left-wing after his blistering hat-trick against Norwich, while Riyad Mahrez will offer a direct threat from the right.

Probable Lineup (4-3-3): Ederson; Stones, Dias, Laporte, Zinchenko; De Bruyne, Rodri, Silva; Mahrez, Foden, Sterling

Key Stats

• Sporting CP have won seven of their last nine home European games. They beat Manchester City when the two sides last met in the last-16 of the Europa League back in 2012, winning on away goals after a 3-3 draw.
• Manchester City have emerged victorious only once in their previous six games in European competition that were held in Portugal, including last season’s UEFA Champions League final defeat at the hands of Chelsea.
• Sporting have reached the last-16 stage of the Champions League for only the first time since the 2008/09 campaign when they were crushed 12-1 on aggregate by Bayern Munich – the biggest defeat in the competition’s history.
• Guardiola’s side have impressively won 13 of their last 20 away European matches, while they are on route to becoming the first team in the Champions League history to win five successive away games in the knockout stages.
• Manchester City have been present in the last-16 of Champions League in each of the past nine seasons, progressing five times to the next round, with the club now establishing a true pedigree at this level.

Player to Watch

Raheem Sterling

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Raheem Sterling started only two of Manchester City’s first seven Premier League games this season but has since come a long way to become an integral part of Pep Guardiola’s setup once again. The Manchester City forward is in great form and scored a hat-trick last weekend to take his tally to 12 goals for the season as the Premier League leaders defeated Norwich City 4-0.

Ten of those strikes have come since November, which speaks a lot about his recent resurgence as the Englishman has proved his worth, and made impressive contributions to City’s season. He has already starred in the Champions League this term in the group stage and would look to make a big impact in the knockouts as well, starting off against Sporting CP.

Prediction

Sporting CP 1-3 Manchester City

On paper, Sporting are one of the weaker teams left in the competition, but they are not to be taken lightly by any means, having already beaten Borussia Dortmund 3-1 last November. The Cityzens have previously lost to PSG and RB Leipzig in the group stages, so Sporting will certainly believe they can cause an upset here.

However, Manchester City are in rampant form in the league and are also vying for FA Cup success, so a treble is well and truly in sight of Pep Guardiola’s side. Given the disparity in individual quality between the two sides, the Hard Tackle predicts the English champions to come out on top with a comfortable 3-1 victory in Lisbon.