Manchester City hosts Sporting in the second leg of the Champions League 1/8 finals. The match will be played on Wednesday, March 9th at Etihad Stadium (Manchester)
I think that Manchester City has already secured a place in the Champions League quarterfinals. It remains only to confirm it officially. Given the advantage of five goals, Guardiola will most likely resort to a rotation of the lineup. In any case, a busy schedule and participation in several tournaments only contribute to this. In the current European campaign, the Citizens have played only three home matches so far (in the group stage of the Champions League). The team won each of them, scoring at least two goals against their opponents. All three games ended with Over 2.5 goals and exchange of goals scored. As for the last 10 home matches in the Champions League, Manchester City suffered only one defeat from Lyon (1-3) and gained nine victories.
| 2 x £10 Free Bet | Review | |||
| 100$-500$ for No Lose Free Bets | Review | |||
| 100% up to £200 | Review | |||
| Not available | Review |
Sporting sensationally made it to the 1/8 finals of the Champions League. But Ruben Amorim’s men failed to create a sensation here. The top-notch Manchester City players did their job in the first game. Now the Lions have no choice but to fight for their prestige. Sporting has already played seven matches in the current European campaign. Six out of those seven games ended with Over 3.5 goals scored. The Lions have never shone in the away matches of the Champions League, which is confirmed by the statistics. In the previous five games, they gained only one victory and suffered four losses. In addition, they conceded at least one goal in the last 17 matches on foreign pitches.
The upcoming game will be the fourth in the history of head-to-head confrontations between these teams. Manchester won twice, while Sporting gained one victory. Interestingly, the Citizens scored at least three goals in victorious games. Guardiola will definitely field the reservists in the upcoming game. Therefore, you should not expect another 5-0 victory from the Citizens. Still, I expect the home team to win and score a couple of goals. Like it or not, the class of the British is much higher. Plus, they will play at their native stadium, where they have always been successful in European competitions. However, the Portuguese will probably attack more actively. They have nothing to lose, and a goal scored at Etihad Stadium could sweeten the bitterness of defeat and relegation from the Champions League.
Prediction for the match: Both teams to score — yes
