MANCHESTER CITY have the most foregone of conclusions as they welcome Sporting Lisbon to the Etihad to complete a formality qualification to the quarter-finals of the Champions League.
Any hopes the Portuguese men may have had of producing any kind of shock or even make a game of it was well and truly distinguished in the first leg in Lisbon.
City were sensational as they absolutely dominated their hosts in a truly embarrassing one-sided 5-0 rout, which obviously ended this tie.
Sporting have played three games since their night of shame and beat Estoril before being held to a draw by Maritimo before they defeated Arouca to stay five points off the pace at the top of the Portuguese League.
Pep Guardiola's men were in Sunday action in the Manchester Derby and completed a superb 4-1 rout. They were doubted in plenty quarters, but surely answered a lot of those with this convincing win.
How the bookies view it
Even though Manchester City could crash to a 4-0 home defeat and still qualify, bookies believe they will wipe the floor with Sporting again. SBK's 2/13 is the price for a home win, while Sporting can be backed at 25/1 with Ladbrokes. The draw is 8/1 with SBK.
Recent head to head
Manchester City blasted their way to that 5-0 win in the first leg as can seen below. It was revenge for their previous meetings in 2012 when Sporting eliminated City from the Europa League on away goals.
Players to watch
It's very much a case of which City plaiers will be deemed worth a run-out here with the tie in the bag. Young Cole Palmer has impressed this season and is 11/10 with bet365 to net on Wednesday and add to his four goals this season, one of which came in this competition.
Algerian striker Islam Slimani scored a double in their weekend league win and he's their most likely to net. He's 11/2 with bet365 to score.
Anything else catch the eye?
As usual with Pep Guardiola, there's no chance he will allow his sky-high standards to drop for this match even though the tie has been long since won. So you should expect more of the same no matter what team he puts out. He's limited to what he can do anyway with the squads submitted.
Clearly, City just to win is too short, but BetVictor's 31/40 for the hosts to win to nil is backable and looks very solid shout.
And City to win both halves at 21/20 with William Hill really should come up too assuming City don't take their foot off the gas.
Manchester City win by five in Portugal, they are capable of doing it again and the 18/5 from bet365 on them to win by four or more goals has a chance.
This UEFA Champions League match between Manchester City and Sporting Lisbon will be played on Mar 9, 2022 and kick off at 20:00. Check below for our tipsters best Manchester City vs Sporting Lisbon prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
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