UEFA Champions League: Manchester City Squad Hit by Injuries, Still Favourites to Dispatch of Sporting Lisbon

UEFA Champions League: Manchester City Squad Hit by Injuries, Still Favourites to Dispatch of Sporting Lisbon

Byron Pillay
updated at April 12, 2023 at 7:57 PM
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  • Manchester City hold a stunning five-goal advantage over Sporting Lisbon in the UEFA Champions League
  • Manchester City have suffered numerous injuries and only have 14 players available for the visit of Sporting Lisbon
  • Sporting Lisbon will have to make UEFA Champions League history if they are to beat Manchester City

Manchester City welcome Sporting Lisbon to the Etihad Stadium in the UEFA Champions League, favourites to progress to the quarter-finals of the tournament.

City already holds a five-goal advantage from the first leg and will be looking to see the tie out.

UEFA Champions League, Manchester City, Sporting Lisbon, Portugal, England, Sport, Soccer
Manchester City's squad has been hit by injuries but they're still favourites to beat Sporting Lisbon in the UEFA Champions League. Image: Octavio Passos/ Ian MacNicol
Source: Getty Images

Manchester City run riot against Sporting Lisbon

Manchester City go into the second leg knowing that Sporting Lisbon needs a miracle to win the tie, SkySports reported. City thrashed Sporting Lisbon 5-0 in Portugal, thanks to a brace from Bernardo Silva as well as goals from Raheem Sterling, Riyad Mahrez and Phil Foden.

Manchester City squad ravaged by injuries

City will be thankful to have a big goal advantage going into the game, as their squad has since been hit with numerous injuries. As reported on the club’s official website, Guardiola confirmed that they only had 14 players available. Kyle Walker will also miss out on the clash after picking up a red card in City’s last UEFA Champions League group game against RB Leipzig.

Confirmed squads for Manchester City versus Sporting Lisbon

Pep Guardiola may have an injury-hit side, but the Citizens have been able to field a side. According to FanNation, the confirmed squads are:

Sporting Lisbon: Adán; Inácio, Coates, Reis; Porro, Palhinha, Nunes, Esgaio; Gonçalves, Paulinho, Sarabia

Substitutes: Esteves, Braganca, Virginia, Edwards, Paulo, Vinagre, Ugarte, Neto, Santos, Slimani, Tabata, Feddal

Manchester City: Ederson; Stones, Dias, Laporte, Cancelo; Silva, Rodri, De Bruyne; Mahrez, Foden, Sterling

Substitutes: Carson, Slicker, Ake, Gundogan, Zinchenko, Fernandinho, Kayky, Delap, Mbete, McAtee, Lavia

Can Sporting Lisbon overturn a five-goal deficit?

Sporting Lisbon will have to pull off the greatest Champions comeback in history if they are to beat Manchester City in the tie. No team has overturned a five-goal first-leg deficit before.

Champions League: Inter Milan end Liverpool’s unbeaten home run but Reds advance on aggregate

Liverpool scraped to the Champions League quarter-final thanks to a 2-1 aggregate win over Inter Milan in the last 16. Inter Milan ended Liverpool’s unbeaten run at Anfield with a 1-0 victory, but it was not enough to see them through to the next round, Sports Brief reported.

Lautaro Martinez got the only goal of the game at the hour mark on Tuesday, March 9 as Inter Milan ended the game with 10 men after Alexis Sanchez’s dismissal moments after his side took the lead.

In the build-up to the game, Liverpool were favourites to advance to the next round, having set themselves up nicely with a 2-0 win in the first leg. And as expected, the Reds were dominant in possession from the opening exchanges, although they struggled to break down what was an organized Inter Milan defence.

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Byron Pillay
Byron Pillay is a sports writer and Head of the Department at Sports Brief (joined in 2022) with over 10 years of experience in community journalism and a degree in journalism from Caxton's Cadet School.
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