UEFA Champions League: Man City vs Sporting live
Preview
When Sporting Lisbon visits the Etihad Stadium for the second leg of their Champions League last-16 encounter tonight at 20:00 GMT, Manchester City will be hoping for an easy journey into the quarter-finals.
Pep Guardiola doesn’t need reminding how the Champions League has escaped him time and time again during his tenure at Man City, but his team made a statement in the first leg of their last-16 tie against the defending Portuguese champions. Guardiola’s men did indeed teach their erstwhile loud neighbours a footballing lesson in a 4-1 thrashing to re-establish their six-point lead atop the Premier League table, with City winning seven of their past eight matches in all competitions heading into the second leg.
The Cityzens have not failed to reach the quarter-finals of the Champions League since the 2016-17 season, and a piece of history is on the line this week, as City may tie the record for six successive home wins in the knockout rounds of the competition.
While there is no shame in coming up short against Man City, the manner in which Sporting surrendered at home to the English champions alarmed Ruben Amorim, whose team must stage the biggest Champions League comeback in history to progress.
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Sporting have never moved past the last-16 stage of the Champions League, and that is unlikely to improve this week. The Portuguese club has only made it this far once before, in 2008-09, when they lost the first leg 5-0 to Bayern Munich. The German giants then went on to win the second leg by an even larger margin, 7-1, to finish the job.
Head-to-head
Man City and Sporting have only played previously at the Etihad, with the Citizens winning 3-2 in the Europa League last-16 but being eliminated on away goals, and one or two consolation goals will almost certainly be the only joy for the visitors today.
Prediction
Sporting can play without fear at the Etihad, knowing that their efforts will almost certainly be in vain, but the absence of two important midfielders poses a threat to the visitors. Given their big five-goal lead, City can afford to be cautious, but Guardiola will still want his team to win with ease as quarter-final preparations begin.
