Sporting Lisbon vs Man City prediction and odds: Don't expect City to run away with Champions League last 16 clash

Check out our 27/20 Sporting Lisbon vs Man City prediction below

Manchester City could hardly be better placed to launch a major assault on this season's Champions League and Pep Guardiola's side are red-hot favourites to come through their last 16 tie with Portuguese Champions Sporting Lisbon.

City maintained their healthy advantage at the top of the Premier League with a routine 4-0 win over Norwich on Saturday evening and they travel to Portugal having not been beaten in any competition since October.

Last season's Champions League finalists are red-hot 7/25 favourites with Grosvenor Sport to come away from the José Alvalade Stadium with a first-leg lead, while Sporting are 10/1 chances to take a lead back to the Etihad in three weeks time.

City qualified for this contest as Group A winners, recording four victories from their six matches – although two of their three away games ended in defeat – while Sporting finished second in Group C despite losing their first two matches.

The 2012 win at home to City is Sporting's last success against an English club. Their record since is D1 L4, most recently losing 1-0 at home and drawing 0-0 away against Arsenal in the 2018/19 UEFA Europa League group stage.

Ruben Filipe Marques Amorim's side have work to do on the domestic front having blown a two-goal lead in a feisty 2-2 draw with table-toppers Porto on Friday night, leaving them six points adrift of their arch rivals in the Portuguese Liga.

However, the Lions have generally been tough to beat on their own patch, conceding just five goals in 11 home Liga matches, and they won't make life easy for City for all that Pep Guardiola's side will be the classiest opposition they have faced in a long time.

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