Sporting Lisbon v Manchester City: Gyokeres goal overpriced at near 2/1

Ruben Amorim is determined to sign-off in style at Sporting

Manchester City head to Portugal on Tuesday to face Sporting Lisbon in the Champions League. Betfair writer Mark O’Haire is backing Viktor Gyokeres to make a mark on proceedings.

Sporting v Manchester CityTuesday November 5, 20:00Live on TNT Sports

Despite the imminent departure of head coach Ruben Amorim, Sporting continued their flawless start to their Portuguese Liga title defence with a 5-1 thrashing of their Lisbon neighbours Estrela on Friday night. Swedish hitman Viktor Gyokeres continued his astonishing form with four goals, whilst Maxi Araujo grabbed his first goal for the club.

It wasn’t complete domination, mind, Sporting goalkeeper Franco Israel was forced into a series of sharp first-half saves, with a VAR decision also preventing the visitors from adding to their goal. The victory was Sporting’s 14th in 15 unbeaten games in all competitions following their Super Cup defeat, but understandably, all attention was on Amorim.

Amorim revealed he had spent three days deliberating his options – and changed his mind several times in the process – before eventually agreeing to move to Manchester United mid-season, admitting he asked to delay his start time at Old Trafford until the end of the season but was told it was “now or never” – as he passionately defended his Sporting exit.

Manchester City’s club record 32-game unbeaten Premier League streak came to an end on Saturday after a lacklustre performance led to a 2-1 loss at in-form Bournemouth. The reverse saw the Citizens drop down to second in the standings, trailing table-toppers Liverpool by two points, with Pep Guardiola acceptant of his side’s defeat.

Guardiola claimed he had just 13 fit players after Wednesday’s cup exit at Tottenham, though the Spaniard still named a strong starting XI on Saturday. He said: “They [Bournemouth] were another pace, and we could not handle it. We knew we couldn’t match the intensity. We had chances at the end, but I congratulate Bournemouth for the victory.”

Ruben Dias was not in the matchday squad, although Manuel Akanji and Nathan Ake did feature from the start, despite carrying injuries. Kyle Walker made his first start for the club since 28 September, whilst Kevin De Bruyne was an unused substitute after being named in the matchday squad for the first time since 18 September. John Stones remains out.

Sporting claimed top honours in their first European meeting with Manchester City back in March 2012 in the Europa League but the capital club are winless in their last three meetings with the Citizens (W0-D1-L2). The duo last crossed swords two years ago in the Champions League; City were 5-0 winners in Lisbon, before a goalless draw at The Etihad.

Sporting 4.30 are unbeaten in each of their last three UCL encounters against English opposition, including beating Tottenham here in 2022. Ruben Amorim’s outfit have also posted W2-D1-L0 in their first three rounds of Champions League action this season, beating Lille (home) and Strum Graz (away), whilst holding PSV to a draw in Eindhoven.

Man City 1.86 set a new European Cup/ Champions League record when beating Sparta Prague, extending their unbeaten streak in the competition to 26 matches (W18-D8-L0), a run that dates back to May 2022. The Citizens have lost just once in 10 major European matches against Portuguese opposition (W6-D3-L0), going W2-D2-L1 away in Portugal.

With Man City a little too short to support considering the circumstances surrounding Pep Guardiola’s side right now, goals look the best bet heading into Tuesday night’s tussle. With Both Teams To Score a touch too skinny at 1.62backing Sporting hot-shot Viktor Gyokeres at 2.88 to get on the scoresheet looks by far the best value angle of attack.

The former Coventry sriker has plundered an outrageous 24 goals in 20 appearances for Sporting and Sweden this season, including eight in his last four fixtures. The 26-year-old has notched seven goals in 12 appearances in European action for Sporting, whilst also scoring in all four of his continental starts at the Estadio Jose Alvalade.

Manchester City have managed only five clean sheets in 15 encounters this term, with their only away shutout since the opening weekend of the season arriving at Slovan Bratislava. It’s also the Citizens’ solitary clean sheet in nine away Champions League matches over the past 12 months.