Manchester City v Sporting predictions: Visitors can strike as City ease through

Free football tips, best bets and analysis for Manchester City v Sporting in the Champions League last-16 second leg on Wednesday.

Where to watch

BT Sport 2, 8pm Wednesday

Best bet

Manchester City to win & both teams to score
2pts 19-10 BoyleSports, Coral, Ladbrokes

Team news

Manchester City
Ruben Dias is injured, Kyle Walker is suspended, Joao Cancelo (illness) is also out and Nathan Ake is unlikely to be risked. Kevin De Bruyne is a doubt after suffering a minor injury in the Manchester derby win.

Sporting
Matheus Nunes is banned and Pedro Goncalves, Joao Palhinha and Daniel Braganca are doubtful for the visitors. Manchester City loanee Pedro Porro is eligible to play against his parent club.

Match preview

The first leg of Manchester City's Champions League last-16 tie against Sporting provided a reminder that, while all champions are equal, some are more equal than others.

City, 1-4 to retain their Premier League title this season, demolished Portuguese champions Sporting 5-0, exposing the gulf between the elite European clubs and the best of the rest.

Pep Guardiola's side had more trouble breaking down the Championship's bottom club Peterborough in the FA Cup last week than they did against the Lisbon giants, who found themselves 4-0 down inside 44 minutes of the home leg.

Raheem Sterling added a fifth goal for City just before the hour mark and it is hard to know what Sporting coach Ruben Amorim can say to rally his charges for, effectively, a dead rubber at the Etihad Stadium.

Bookmakers do not expect the Citizens to ease up, offering odds of around 1-7 that the hosts win the second leg and just 4-9 that they cover a one-goal handicap.

With in-form Liverpool breathing down their necks in the Premier League, City produced a devastating display to thrash derby rivals Manchester United 4-1 on Sunday and Guardiola will want his players to maintain those standards despite having both feet in the quarter-final draw.

Expectations have weighed heavily on City in the Champions League and last season's runners-up are clear favourites for the trophy this term.

Their clean sheet in the first leg against Sporting was their first shutout in seven European matches this season after an entertaining group-stage campaign and they are worth backing to win with both teams scoring in the return leg.

That bet copped in all three of their home group matches, as they beat RB Leipzig 6-3, Club Brugge 4-1 and Paris St-Germain 2-1, as well as in a 5-1 romp in Bruges on matchday three.

Guardiola's defensive options are limited by Kyle Walker's suspension following a red card in the final group game against Leipzig, injuries to centre-backs Ruben Dias and Nathan Ake, and Joao Cancelo's absence through illness.

Sporting were restricted to just three shots on goal in the first leg, all of them wayward, but they have scored in all 25 of their Primeira Liga matches this season and, like City, were involved in several high-scoring group games in the Champions League.

Their campaign was bookended by 5-1 and 4-2 defeats to section winners Ajax but they thumped Besiktas 4-1 and 4-0 before a crucial 3-1 home victory over Borussia Dortmund on matchday five.

Given the first-leg scoreline there is bound to be a slight drop in focus from the hosts and Amorim's visitors should look at the game as a free hit.

They proved their goalscoring threat in the group stage and may be able to land a blow in a losing cause in Manchester.

Key stat

Manchester City have won and both teams have scored in four of their last five home Champions League games.

Inside info

Manchester City

Penalty taker Riyad Mahrez
Free-kick wizard Riyad Mahrez
Set-piece aerial threat John Stones
Card magnet Fernandinho

Sporting

Penalty taker Pablo Sarabia
Free-kick wizard Pablo Sarabia
Set-piece aerial threat Sebastian Coates
Card magnet Goncalo Inacio

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