Sporting CP vs Manchester City – Match preview and team news

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·5 novembre 2024

Sporting CP vs Manchester City – Match preview and team news

Manchester City travel to the Portuguese capital to face Sporting Lisbon tonight, who are currently led by newly-appointed Manchester United manager Ruben Amorim.

This will be Amorim’s penultimate game in charge of Sporting before his move to Manchester on November 11th. He has won two Primeira Liga titles during his four-and-a-half years with the club.

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There is an unfamiliar feeling in the City camp after defeat at Bournemouth saw the club lose consecutive games for the first time in a year.

Despite the negative result, there were several positives personnel-wise at the weekend as Jeremy Doku, Kevin de Bruyne and Savinho were all included in the matchday squad.

Doku appeared off the bench, though Pep Guardiola opted against introducing De Bruyne. Savinho was the most surprising inclusion after he was stretchered off against Tottenham in the Carabao Cup just three days prior.

However, Guardiola’s options in defence are limited with John Stones and Ruben Dias unlikely to feature.

Goncalo Inacio is the only injury concern for the hosts after he was substituted at half-time in their 5-1 win over Estrela da Amadora on Friday.

Sporting CP vs Manchester City – Match preview and team news

Form

Sporting: WWWWW

Sporting are in scintillating form and have triumphed in each of their last six matches in all competitions.

After 10 league games, the Portuguese club a perfect record and have only conceded three goals. The Lisbon-based outfit has carried that domestic form into their European exploits to accrue seven points from a possible nine in the Champions League.

Victor Gyökores has emerged as one of Europe’s most potent forwards and the Swede has already netted on 20 occasions for Sporting this campaign.

🫱 Gyökeres 🫲 @SportingCP | #UCL
– giovedì 19 settembre 2024

Manchester City: WWWLL

Manchester City are in the midst of an injury crisis that has impacted their performances on the pitch.

Guardiola’s depleted side were knocked out of the Carabao Cup at Spurs last week and their fortunes didn’t improve at the weekend as a buoyant Bournemouth suffocated his City side.

Antoine Semenyo and Evanilson gave the Cherries a two-goal advantage before Josko Gvardiol’s looping header halved the deficit with ten minutes to go.

Erling Haaland uncharacteristically missed a gilt-edged opportunity to level proceedings late on. His close-range effort could not find its way past Bournemouth goalkeeper Mark Travers and the woodwork.

Last Meeting: Manchester City 0-0 Sporting CP, Champions League, 9th March 2022.

After a resounding 5-0 victory in the first leg, it was a goalless draw at the Etihad to see Pep Guardiola and his players comfortably progress to the quarter-finals of the competition.

It was an utterly ruthless display of finishing from the Manchester club in the first leg as they blew Sporting away thanks to a brace from Bernardo Silva and goals from Riyad Mahrez, Phil Foden and Raheem Sterling.

That sizeable lead meant Guardiola was able to rotate for the second leg and a goalless draw confirmed progress to the last eight. City were knocked out of the competition by eventual winners Real Madrid in the semi-finals.

Predicted Lineups

Sporting: Israel; Fresneda, Debast, Diomade, St. Juste, Araujo; Hjulmand, Morita; Trincao, Gyökores, Goncalves.

Manchester City: Ederson; Lewis, Akanji, Ake, Gvardiol; Silva, Kovacic, Gundogan; Doku, Haaland, Nunes

Who is the referee?

German referee Daniel Siebert will be the match official. He will be assisted by Jan Seidel and Rafael Foltyn while Daniel Schlager will be the fourth official. The VAR will be Bastian Dankert and he will be assisted by Benjamin Brand.