Manchester City's most-recent visit to Lisbon saw them leave 5-0 winners so, having claimed 4-0 and 5-0 victories across their last two Champions League fixtures, will this trend continue?
Sporting CP vs Manchester City Preview
Can Manchester City get back to winning ways? Pep Guardiola's team travel to Lisbon in the rare position of having lost back-to-back games. First, last mid-week, the Sky Blues were dumped out of the Carabao Cup, beaten 2-1 by Tottenham, before seeing their 32-match unbeaten streak in the Premier League come to an end on Saturday, defeated by the same scoreline at Bournemouth.
It's not often in recent seasons that the Citizens have experienced anything resembling a crisis, although with this visit to the Portuguese capital followed by Saturday's trip to Brighton, they might just be on precipice of one perhaps. In this new-look, gigantic Champions League table Man City currently sit third; a goalless draw with Inter having been followed by emphatic victories over Slovan Bratislava and Sparta Prague, scoring four and five without reply respectively. This though will surely be a significantly sturner test of their credentials.
Well, Sporting CP have certainly been in the news recently, in relation to the other team from Manchester. Manager Rúben Amorim has been in charge for 229 matches, but will remain in situ for just two more, departing for Manchester United following Sunday's clash with Braga. Since his appointment in 2020, Amorim has delivered two Primeira Liga titles, the club's first for almost two decades, while the Lions boast a perfect ten wins out of ten this season, most-recently hammering Estrela da Amadora 5-1 on Friday night.
In this competition, Sporting have seven points on the board, the same number as their visitors, held to a 1-1 draw by PSV Eindhoven, but defeating both Lille and Sturm Graz 2-0 either-side. The Green and Whites have only reached the Champions League knockout stages once since 2008/09, a run ended four seasons again by Man City, so if they could hold onto their current top eight position, that would represent a major achievement, especially given that their most-successful manager in modern-times is set to depart. As referenced earlier, the Sky Blues ran riot when they most-recently visited Estádio José Alvalade in February 2022, leaving 5-0 winners, although a repeat of that scoreline seems unlikely.
Sporting CP vs Manchester City Head-to-Head Record
- Matches Played: 4.
- Sporting CP Wins: 1. Draws: 1. Manchester City Wins: 2.
Sporting CP Team News
Rúben Amorim deploys quite a defined, specific attacking 3-4-3 formation, something Man United supporters have to look forward to, set to name a very similar lineup to that used on Friday. Franco Israel is the new number one goalkeeper while captain Morten Hjulmand holds it all together in midfield. Fit again Jeremiah St. Juste came off the bench at half time at the weekend, but isn't yet fit enough to start.
Sporting CP predicted lineup vs Manchester City: (3-4-3): Israel; Inácio, Diomande, Debast; Quenda, Bragança, Hjulmand, Araújo; Trincão, Gonçalves, Gyökeres.
Sporting CP Player to Watch vs Manchester City
Viktor Gyökeres is one of Europe's most in-form strikers, scoring a staggering 63 goals in 66 appearances for Sporting since signing from Brighton. His hat-trick against Estrela da Amadora on Friday took his tally to 20 for the season already, one target against both Lille and Sturm Graz in the Champions League, now seeking to claim an even more noteworthy scalp.
Manchester City Team News
Pep Guardiola has claimed he has only 13 fit senior outfield players, it is a little more than that, with Rúben Dias, John Stones, Rodri and Jack Grealish sidelined. In better news, Kevin De Bruyne was back on the bench at Bournemouth, hoping to see minutes for the first time since suffering a hamstring injury against Inter on 18 September. Meantime, Jérémy Doku returned at Dean Court, while Savinho was also amongst the substitutes, despite being taken off on a stretcher at Tottenham less than 72 hours earlier. Nevertheless, Guardiola has little scope for rotation.
Manchester City predicted lineup vs Sporting CP: (4-2-3-1): Ederson; Lewis, Akanji, Aké, Gvardiol; Kovačić, Gündoğan, Nunes, Silva, Foden; Håland.
Manchester City Player to Watch vs Sporting CP
Erling Braut Håland has scored 44 goals in 42 career Champions League games, including three in this season's competition, so can he add to his tally?
Sporting CP vs Manchester City Prediction
We're backing Manchester City to leave Lisbon with all three points. Expect this one to be high-scoring, with the Sky Blues likely to take advantage of Sporting's gung-ho approach Sporting CP 1-2 Manchester City.
Sporting CP vs Manchester City FAQs - Champions League
How to watch Sporting CP vs Manchester City Champions League game on TV channel?
Sporting CP vs Manchester City Champions League game will be available on the following TV channels;
- UK: TNT Sports 1
- USA: Paramount+ & ViX.
- Canada: DAZN Canada
How to watch Sporting CP vs Manchester City Champions League game on live streaming?
Sporting CP vs Manchester City Champions League game will be available on the following streaming services;
- UK: Discovery+
- USA: Paramount+ & ViX.
- Canada: DAZN Canada
What is the date and kick-off time for Sporting CP vs Manchester City in the Champions League?
Sporting CP vs Manchester City in the Champions League takes place on Tuesday 5 November 2024, with kick off at 20:00 (GMT), 15:00 (EDT) & 12:00 (PST).