Manchester City are clear favourites but Sporting Lisbon are no pushovers; a couple of good performances are all the Portuguese side need.
Follow Us
A match between Manchester City and Sporting Lisbon is unlikely to appeal to football fans across the spectrum. However, the Champions League round of 16 first leg match will be of utmost importance to City.
Pep Guardiola’s men came extremely close to achieving their ultimate aim of winning Europe’s biggest cup competition last season. However, fellow English side Chelsea pipped them to the cup in the final.
The Spanish manager knows that this is the trophy which will define his legacy at City. He’s made them Premier League juggernauts, but in Europe they have always fallen short.
And while this is just the round of 16 match, the simple truth is that this is a knockout match. City are clear favourites but Sporting Lisbon are no pushovers; a couple of good performances are all the Portuguese side need.
Still, given the array of riches City have in their squad, most expect them to easily progress. What’s more, this side have plenty of experience playing in the way Guardiola expects them to.
It is a style they have mastered and, when they’re on, they are a hard team to top. Having good players is one thing; getting them all to function as a unit is quite another. And, as things stand, City are a formidable unit.
Nevertheless, Guardiola is in no mood to see this as an easy day’s work. He himself admitted that he thought they were a good side when he watched them recently.
“Portugal always had an incredible competitive league,” he said. “We fought against Porto last season and we realised how strong they are and the other teams.
“They have incredible recruitment in Portugal or Brazil. They are so competitive and that is why the biggest talents go to other leagues.
“What I have seen from Sporting is togetherness. The relationship between the manager and the team is there. The manager is being fought for by his players. This is the most important thing.
“They have incredible runners and attack in behind. They were Champions last year for the first time in many years because they are a really good team.
He also spoke of the teams they’ve had to beat to even make it to the knockouts.
“They came through the group stage against Ajax and Dortmund, who are a club who have got to quarter and semi-finals and once in the final. They beat them because they are good.
“Watching them recently, I was really impressed with how good they are.”
Guardiola is known to always talk up his opponents in advance. How big a test Sporting prove to be will only be evident when the two teams face off.
Manchester City vs Liverpool: Talking points from the action-packed draw
