Sporting Lisbon vs Manchester City: Preview, Prediction, Team News, Lineups As Grealish Remain in Doubt

• Sporting Lisbon vs Manchester City will see Pep Guardiola’s side make an attempt to take a first-leg advantage in the Champions League Round of 16
• Manchester City reached this stage of the competition as Group A winners, while Sporting qualified as Group C runners-up
• The last time that the Portuguese outfit reached this stage of the competition was back in 2008-09, meaning they are the underdogs

Manchester City travel to Portugal to take on Sporting Lisbon as the knockout phase of the Champions League gets underway and Pep Guardiola will be looking to take a first-leg advantage.

The Citizens won Group A with 12 points to reach this stage of the competition, while Sporting were runners-up in Group C behind Ajax, edging Borussia Dortmund to a spot in the Round of 16.

It is the first time the Portuguese outfit reach this stage of the competition since 2008-09 season when they eventually lost 12-1 to rampaging Bayern Munich, meaning they are serious underdogs against City.

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They come into this fixture from a 2-2 draw with Porto in the league on Friday, a match that was characterized by five red cards after chaotic scenes erupted.

The result means they remain second on the log in the Portuguese topflight points behind leaders Porto on the same number of matches.

On the other hand, Man City are viewed by many to be the favourites for this season's Champions League, but the Citizens were far from perfect in the group stage of the competition, losing two of their six matches; a record of 12 points was still enough to top the section, though, with Paris Saint-Germain finishing second.

Pep Guardiola's side will enter this match off the back of a 4-0 win over Norwich City in the Premier League on Saturday, which moved them 12 points clear of second-placed Liverpool at the summit; injured Jack Grealish is in doubt.

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Predicted line ups as per Sports Mole

Sporting Lisbon possible starting lineup:

Adan; Inacio, Coates, Feddal; Porro, Nunes, Palhinha, Reis; Sarabia, Paulinho, Goncalves

Manchester City possible starting lineup:

Ederson; Stones, Dias, Laporte, Cancelo; B Silva, Rodri, De Bruyne; Mahrez, Foden, Sterling

Muhammed Kudus returns ahead of Champions League action

Meanwhile, Sports Brief earlier reported that Mohammed Kudus made his first Dutch Eredivisie appearance for Ajax in 2022 after a cameo display in Ajax's 5-0 thrashing of FC Twente on Sunday.

The Ghana ace, who missed AFCON due to an injury, has not played in the league since picking an injury against South Africa in the World Cup qualifier on November 15, 2021.

However, on Sunday he replaced Stephen Berghuis as he continues to build on his fitness ahead of UEFA Champions League clash against Benfica.