Sporting Lisbon vs Manchester City
UEFA Champions League, KO: 20:00 Nov 5, 2024, Estadio Jose Alvalade
Man City will look to make it three wins on the spin in this season’s Champions League when they square off with Sporting Lisbon at the Estadio Jose Alvalade on Tuesday night.
Pep Guardiola’s side kicked off their continental campaign with a 0-0 draw at home to Inter Milan, but they have since seen off both Slovan Bratislava and Sparta Prague with relative ease.
However, the Sky Blues did suffer their first Premier League defeat of 2024 when going down 2-1 at Bournemouth on Saturday.
That setback came fresh off the back of a 2-1 defeat to Tottenham in the EFL Cup last midweek, so City will be keen to arrest their mini-slump when they pitch up in the Portuguese capital.
Ruben Amorim began his farewell tour before taking the reins at Manchester United by steering Sporting Lisbon to an emphatic 5-1 win over Estrela on Friday night.
The Lions, who currently sit at the top of the Portuguese Primeira Liga, have also made a promising start to their European campaign, pocketing seven points from a possible nine thus far.
How the bookies view it: City to tame Lions
Despite wobbling over the last week or so, Man City will enter the Estadio Jose Alvalade on Tuesday night as short-priced 3/4 favourites on Betano.
Sporting Lisbon, who have won each of their last seven home games across all competitions, are 31/10 (Betano) outsiders, while the draw is an unfancied 29/10 with the same frim.
Head to head: City looking to light up Lisbon again
Man City romped to a 5-0 first leg victory in the round of 16 at this venue back in 2022. Overall, the two teams have come up against each other on four occasions, with City posting two wins to Sporting Lisbon’s one, with the other encounter ending goalless.
Players to watch: A tale of two strikers?
Viktor Gyokeres hit the headlines with a four-goal haul Friday night’s 5-1 thumping of Estrela. The Manchester United-linked striker is 9/5 on UniBet to notch what would be his 21st goal of the season on Tuesday night.
As tends to be the case, Erling Haaland finds himself at the head of the anytime goalscorer market here, with the Man City goal machine priced up at 10/11 on Bet 365.
Alternatively, the above-mentioned duo can both be backed to score on Tuesday night at 5/1 on UniBet.
Predicted line-ups
Sporting Lisbon remain without the services of injured duo Eduardo Quaresma and Nuno Santos. Former Tottenham Hotspur man Marcus Edwards could come back into the starting XI after finding himself on the bench on Friday night.
Kevin De Bruyne was an unused substitute for Man City at Bournemouth on Saturday, however the Belgian ace is unlikely to be unleashed from the start here following his recent spell on the sidelines.
Sporting Lisbon: Israel; Diomande, Debast, Inacio; Quenda, Braganca, Goncalves, Morita, Edwards, Trincao, Gyokeres
Man City: Ederson; Stones, Dias, Gvardiol; Lewis, Kovacic; Bernardo, Gundogan, Foden, Nunes; Haaland
Anything else catch the eye?
Pairing up the previously mentioned Viktor Gyokeres to have at least one shot on target alongside Sporting Lisbon with a + 2 start on the handicap will bring about a 4/5 Bet Builder on UniBet.
Man City have looked out-of-sorts of late and they are unlikely to have things all their own way against a Sporting Lisbon side that are playing with a real swagger this season.
Given Gyokeres’ scoring exploits this term a minimum of one on-target effort should be within range from the Swedish sharpshooter on Tuesday night.
This UEFA Champions League match between Sporting Lisbon and Manchester City will be played on Nov 5, 2024 and kick off at 20:00. Check below for our tipsters best Sporting Lisbon vs Manchester City prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
