City's Grealish (shin) to miss Champions League tie

Manchester City will be without the services of Jack Grealish when they travel to Portugal on Tuesday for the first leg of their Champions League tie with Sporting.

The 26-year-old England midfielder is sidelined with a shin injury.

Manager Pep Guardiola doesn't believe Grealish's injury is serious, but he will be one of three City absences in Lisbon.

"He is better, but for tomorrow he is not available, along with Cole Palmer and Gabriel [Jesus]," said Guardiola.

The one major honour still to elude City, Guardiola admits that the team is focused on Champions League triumph.

"To do better than last season is not easy, but we are excited and happy to be in this competition at this stage again," the Spaniard said. "I know how important the Champions League is - we cannot deny it - but we take every Premier League game seriously and you saw how we behaved against Norwich [in a 4-0 victory]. That's the best proof that we do it every single game, not just in the Premier League."

City is one of four English sides in the Champions League's Round of 16. On Wednesday, Liverpool travels to the San Siro for their first leg against Inter. Next Tuesday, Chelsea hosts Lille at Stamford Bridge, while Manchester United travels to Madrid next Wednesday to face Atletico.