Sporting Lisbon vs Manchester City Predictions & Tips

In May last year Manchester City’s Champions League bid failed in Portugal. The Citizens went down 1-0 to Chelsea in Porto, so its fitting that they return to Portugal in an attempt to exercise those demons this week.

City are up against Portuguese champions Sporting, which is among the easier draws they could have landed at this stage. The hosts made it through their group having squeezed by Borussia Dortmund, but their record was far from stellar. Three defeats in six – including 4-2 and 5-1 losses to Ajax – show why City are heavy favourites.

Sublime City keep rolling on

During the Champions League’s hibernation, City have been utterly incredible. They lost at RB Leipzig in a dead rubber match at the end of the group stage, but since then the Premier League champions have won 11 of their 12 games.

The title is within City’s grasp as the season rumbles on, but it’s Europe which will be their focus this term. City have won 11 of their last 14 games in Europe and given Sporting’s record this term we’re backing the visitors to take a first-leg advantage.

Mahrez to fire Citizens to victory

The only issue for City is that they are short on clean sheets in this competition. They’ve kept only one clean sheet across their last 11 Champions League games, conceding in each of their last five away trips.

Sporting did score in defeats home and away to Ajax, while they notched in all but one of their six group games. The hosts have scored in each of their last 27 matches, so they should give City something to worry about. Back them to score in a victory for the visitors.

One man to watch in this clash is Riyad Mahrez, who was a key part of City’s run to the final last term. The Algerian has been brilliant in Europe over the last year, scoring nine times across his last 10 Champions League matches. He should get plenty of chances in a City side who have scored 10 goals across their last three games, so back Mahrez to find the net in a 3-1 win for the visitors.