Sporting Lisbon vs Manchester City

Estadio Jose Alvalade is the venue as Sporting Lisbon and Manchester City go head-to-head in the first leg of their exciting UEFA Champions League last-16 tie.

Sporting Lisbon’s first appearance in the Champions League round of 16 since a thumping 12-1 aggregate defeat at the hands of Bayern Munich in 2008/09 pits them against another continental powerhouse. Despite heading into proceedings as overwhelming outsiders, the reigning Primeira Liga champions can draw confidence from their decent home record in Europe’s elite competition (W3, D1, L1). Delivering action from the get-go, Ruben Amorim’s men registered nine of their 12 goals scored in that five-game sequence inside the opening 45 minutes of play. Moreover, the Portuguese heavyweights won their only previous European tie against Man City, courtesy of the 2011/12 Europa League last-16 success via away goal rule. Coming into this fixture, Sporting blew a 2-1 half-time lead at bitter rivals Porto, eventually drawing 2-2 at the Dragao, ending a run of four consecutive domestic triumphs.

In the meantime, Manchester City remain one of the hottest favourites to conquer the competition this term after suffering a grand final heartbreak against Chelsea last season. Pep Guardiola’s side finished top of the Champions League Group A, a point clear of runners-up PSG, despite losing twice in their six group stage outings (W4). Unsurprisingly, both those losses came away from home, which is not a good omen, considering the ‘Cityzens’ have only picked up one victory in their six European fixtures held on Portuguese soil (D2, L3). But there’s a piece of history open for the taking here, as Man City could become the first-ever side to win five successive Champions League knock-out matches as a visiting team. Yet, it’s worth noting that they’ve only kept one clean sheet from their last 11 games in the competition.