After recording the joint largest away leg victory in knockout round competition history, Manchester City welcomes Sporting Lisbon to the Etihad in Champions League action this week.
Sporting would need to make competition history to overturn the first-leg deficit. The largest turnaround in Champions League KO history is Barcelona’s incredible comeback against PSG in the 16/17 season when they overturned a 4-0 first-leg defeat with a 6-1 second-leg victory.
Sporting is nowhere near the levels of the 16/17 Barcelona vintage. Should City complete the job and eliminate Sporting CP from the competition as we all expect them to, they will keep their impressive record against Portuguese opponents intact.
They have never lost against a side from Portugal in a European competition.
On the other side of the coin, Sporting has not won against any English opposition in UEFA competitions since a 3-2 victory over Middlesbrough in the 2004/05 UEFA Cup.
Manchester City vs Sporting CP FYIs
When is it? Wednesday, 9 March 2022 8 PM
Where is it? Etihad Stadium, Machester
Who’s in form? Man City (WLWWW) Sporting (WWWLL)
What are the odds? Man City (-700) Sporting (+1500) Draw (+850)
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Let’s have a look at what City’s starting XI might look like come kickoff on Wednesday night.
Ederson will be the goalie for this one. In normal circumstances, I think the Brazilian might have been rested for this one. However, Zack Steffen is still out with a back complaint and I think the level of the third and fourth choice options are too low to be considered for selection.
Kyle Walker is missing from the defense.
That means Joao Cancelo will probably switch to right back. That means that Oleksandr Zinchenko will probably come in to play left-back.
Ruben Dias is unavailable because of a hamstring injury, so I expect John Stones to replace him in the center of defense with Aymeric Laporte partnering him.
Club captain Fernandinho will return to the starting lineup for this Champions League clash at the base of a midfield three. I think they will rest Kevin De Bruyne to prevent him from picking up a suspension should he receive a yellow card.
Therefore, I reckon Ilkay Gundogan and Bernardo Silva will start as the more attacking players in midfield.
Riyad Mahrez will start on the right of the attack, fresh off of a brace in the Manchester derby at the weekend. Brazilian Gabriel Jesus will start in the center of the attack, with Raheem Sterling starting on the left. Jack Grealish and Phil Foden drop out of the starting XI at their expense.
Manchester City won’t need to be anywhere near their best to win this one. This side will easily account for their Portuguese opponents. Expect a professional performance and goals. Lots of them. A spot in the quarterfinals is a given at this point for Manchester City.
Manchester City 4-0.