Manchester City return to Champions League competition on Tuesday night and they’re coming up a man in Ruben Amorim that they’re about to get very familiar with.
It’s been a rough few weeks for Manchester City with mounting injury issues leading to deteriorating performances and the first two defeats of the 2024/25 season.
Pep Guardiola wouldn’t have been too upset over getting knocked out of the Carabao Cup by Tottenham in midweek but following it up with a loss to Bournemouth in the Premier League will not have gone down well.
City have a chance to bounce back in the Champions League but that won’t be easy against a Sporting side that is going great guns this season.
So well, in fact, that Manchester United have swooped in to hire their manager but Ruben Amorim will only take over from Erik ten Hag at Old Trafford from next week.
First, he will take on his new club’s local rivals in a match that will have both Blues and Reds tuning in.
Here is how you can watch and everything else you need to know.
- Champions League 2024/25: New changes, league phase draw details, who Man City will face, full schedule
Sporting vs Man City kick-off time
Manchester City will face Portuguese champions Sporting on Tuesday, November 5, with kick-off coming at 8 pm at the Jose Alvalade Stadium.
How to watch Sporting vs Man City
Every single Champions League game is televised in the UK so there are multiple ways to watch City take on Sporting.
TV channel
City’s visit to Lisbon will be televised live by TNT Sports on their TNT Sports 1 channel. Coverage starts at 7 pm.
Sporting vs Man City live stream
The streaming home for TNT Sports is Discovery+.
Those with a subscription will be able to stream Tuesday’s game live on their laptops, smart TVs, smartphones and tablets via the Discovery+ app.
It will cost you £30.99 per month to subscribe to Discovery+.
Sporting Lisbon vs Manchester City team news
City remain ravaged by injuries which has forced Guardiola to name several youngsters in the squad with Josh Wilson-Esbrand joining the likes of Jacob Wright, Jahmai Simpson-Pusey and Nico O’Reilly.
Kyle Walker, Kevin De Bruyne and Savinho have all made the trip after returning to the fold at the weekend, though De Bruyne and Savinho did not come on.
However, Ruben Dias, John Stones and Jack Grealish remain sidelined alongside Rodri and Oscar Bobb.
Guardiola said ahead of the game: “Manu [Akanji] and Nathan [Ake] are still with problems.
“Kevin is getting better. He is having sessions with less pain, so we feel he is getting more and more comfortable. That is good news for all of us.
“Kyle as well. He had problems with his knee since being with the national team.
“Doku has had problems with muscular issues, Savinho is getting better with his ankle. The rest are fine.
“Oscar, the most important player in pre-season, is injured. Jack is still not fit. You know the situation with Rodri, nominated the best player in the world.
“We know we will struggle, and we have to accept that, and it is fine.
“The games will be difficult; in previous seasons it was smooth. Personal reason, injuries, we won six Premier Leagues in seven years – things change. We have to accept that.”
- Man City injury list 2024/25: Latest updates and potential return dates for sidelined stars
Man City squad vs Sporting
- Kyle Walker
- Nathan Ake
- Mateo Kovacic
- Erling Haaland
- Jeremy Doku
- Kevin De Bruyne
- Stefan Ortega Moreno
- Ilkay Gundogan
- Bernardo Silva
- Josko Gvardiol
- Manuel Akanji
- Savinho
- Matheus Nunes
- Ederson
- Scott Carson
- Phil Foden
- Jacob Wright
- Jahmai Simpson-Pusey
- Nico O’Reilly
- Rico Lewis
- James McAtee
- Josh Wilson-Esbrand
Referee and officials
- Referee: Daniel Siebert GER
- Assistant Referees: Jan Seidel GER, Rafael Foltyn GER
- Fourth Official: Daniel Schlager GER
- Video Assistant Referee: Bastian Dankert GER
- Assistant Video Assistant Referee: Benjamin Brand GER
- UEFA Referee Observer: Bertrand Layec FRA
- UEFA Delegate: Klara Bjartmarz ISL
Prediction
All of a sudden, City have become a really tough team to predict.
Losing Rodri would be damaging enough for any side but add at least five crucial players on top of that as well as another five, at a minimum, who are not fully fit? That’s just asking for trouble.
It’s exactly what City found on Saturday with the defeat to Bournemouth and Sporting are much more dangerous proposition than the Cherries.
Amorim’s side have won 10 out of 10 games in the league so far this season, with a goal difference of 32, and they are unbeaten in Europe.
They will be able to sense City’s vulnerability and be eyeing a famous victory but the Blues may take solace from the fact they scored five the last time they visited the Jose Alvalade Stadium.
Prediction: Sporting 1-1 Man City.
