Sporting CP vs Man City: Match Preview & Prediction

• Man City take on Sporting CP in the Champions League off the back of two defeats
• Pep Guardiola faces up against incoming Man Utd boss Ruben Amorim
• Two teams have collected seven points from opening three league phase games

There’s a chance for incoming Manchester United boss Ruben Amorim to get one over his future local rivals on Tuesday night as his Sporting CP side face Manchester City in the Champions League.

Amorim was confirmed as Erik ten Hag’s successor last week but the Portuguese coach won’t assume his role at Old Trafford until 11 November. This is his penultimate game in charge of Sporting.

The Primeira Liga champions have started the 2024/25 campaign in remarkable form. Their title defence has begun with ten wins from ten matches and they’ve accumulated seven points through three league phase games. Sporting beat Lille and Sturm Graz either side of a 1-1 draw at PSV.

Man City’s healthy goal difference leaves them third in the league phase table despite also picking up seven points. Pep Guardiola’s side have claimed comfortable triumphs over Slovan Bratislava and Sparta Prague after being held by Inter on Matchday 1.

Tuesday’s visitors, though, enter the contest off the back of two consecutive defeats. After losing to Tottenham in the Carabao Cup last Wednesday, City suffered their first Premier League loss of 2024 at Bournemouth on Saturday.

Sporting CP team news

Nuno Santos is set to miss the rest of 2024 with a knee injury /GettyImages

Sporting’s injury woes pale in comparison to their visitors’ concerns, with Amorim only likely to be without Nuno Santos due to a knee injury which could keep him out for the rest of the calendar year.

Centre-backs Goncalo Inacio and Zeno Debast were withdrawn in the second half during Friday night’s win over Estrela, potentially with Tuesday’s game in mind.

Viktor Gyokeres is the man to watch up top for Sporting as he enters this contest having scored 20 goals in 16 games this season. Pedro Goncalves will operate as the home side’s primary playmaker from an inside left position.

Man City team news

Man City are currently without Ruben Dias and John Stones /GettyImages

Man City’s injury crisis perhaps isn’t as bad as Guardiola feared last week, but Tuesday’s visitors will be without several key names up until the November international break.

Ruben Dias and John Stones both missed Saturday’s defeat due to respective muscle and foot injuries. Neither player will be involved in Lisbon. City are also without Jack Grealish, Oscar Bobb and Rodri.

Savinho and Kevin De Bruyne were unused substitutes at the Vitality which means they should at least travel to the Portuguese capital. De Bruyne hasn’t been in action since Matchday 1 of the league phase.

Sporting CP vs Man City prediction

It’s rarely time to overreact to City defeats, but there’s certainly reason for Guardiola to be concerned. Things don’t get any easier for the Cityzens here as they face a rampant Sporting team aiming to end Amorim’s tenure on a high.

There are chinks in the home side’s armour, especially out of possession, but this City team are not best placed to take advantage of such vulnerabilities given their form and absentees. The visitors are exploitable in transition without Rodri and Sporting boast a master counter-attacking outlet in Gyokeres who will pounce on an unsure defensive line.

The battle for control will be fierce and City are bound to suffer in Lisbon. Don’t expect thrills and spills, with Guardiola’s side just about doing enough to earn a point.

Prediction: Sporting CP 1-1 Man City

Credit: 90Mins