Sporting vs Man City LIVE: Champions League result and final score after stunning Raheem Sterling goal

Manchester City may be the favourites this evening but Pep Guardiola isn’t under-estimating their opponents.

He has spoken highly about Sporting, he said: “What I have seen from Sporting is togetherness. The relationship between the manager and the team is there. The manager is being fought for by his players. This is the most important thing.

“They have incredible runners and attack in behind. They were Champions last year for the first time in many years because they are a really good team.

“They came through the group stage against Ajax and Dortmund, who are a club who have got to quarter and semi-finals and once in the final. They beat them because they are good.

“Watching them recently, I was really impressed with how good they are.”

The pundits are discussing who they believe will win the Champions League this season.

They all say Manchester City and Liverpool are the front runners with Chelsea and Bayern Munich in the background.

I think City may have the edge out of the English clubs but Bayern Munich have been thoroughly impressive. Robert Lewandowski is on fire and it will take a lot to stop them.

But you know what they say about the commentators curse so I’ll stop predicting now...

Pep Guardiola is putting the pressure of the lack of Champions League success at City out of his mind ahead of this clash.

Guardiola, of course, led the team to the final last season but they lost out to Chelsea.

He said: “I have been in the business as a manager - we are exposed and get punished by the criticism when you don’t get results. No just me, all the managers. It is not absolutely a problem. Otherwise you have to decide to do another job.

“To do better than last season is not easy. We are excited and happy to be in this competition at this stage. I know how important the Champions League is - we cannot deny it - but we take every Premier League game seriously and we saw how we behaved against Norwich was the best proof that we want to do it every single game, not just in the Champions League.”

Let’s see if he can get the job done this season...

Well what a match we have on our hands with those two line-ups!

It is set to be a cracker with Pep Guardiola’s side listed as the favourites. But Sporting are capable of beating the Premier League holders.

In 2011, the last and only time City have played Sporting, the Portuguese club progressed to the quarter-finals of the Europa League due to away goals after the two legs ended 3-3.

So while it may be an unlikely outcome, Sporting could cause an upset.

Manchester City have revealed their starting XI for their last 16 clash against Sporting.

Guardiola has picked: Ederson, Stones, Dias, Laporte, Cancelo, Rodrigo, De Bruyne, Bernardo Silva, Mahrez, Foden, Sterling.

And Sporting have announced their side to try and beat last year’s finalists.

They line-up as a 3-4-3: Adán, Feddal, Coates, Inácio, Reis, Nunes, Palhinha, Porro, Gonçalves, Paulinho, Sarabia.

Significantly for the club they have Pote Gonçalves in their ranks. The star was an injury doubt ahead of the match but will start for his side.

While we hotly anticipate the team news, which should be dropping shortly, here’s a look at who isn’t featuring this evening.

Sporting may be without Pote as he missed their match against Porto on Friday. But that is the only major doubt for the hosts this evening.

Meanwhile City won’t have Jack Grealish due to injury or Kyle Walker as he is suspended.

Who would you select? We’ll find out who the manager’s have in just a few minutes...

Manchester City do have a good record in the Champions League, making the final last season, but they have never got their hands on the trophy.

Pep Guardiola will be hoping this campaign will be the one to see the Sky Blues become champions of Europe. The first team to stand in their way is Sporting Lisbon, who are on a special run.

The Portuguese team haven’t been in the last 16 stage of the competition since the 2008/09 season. So while City may be the favourites heading into the two-leg tie, don’t count out the underdogs.

Team news should be landing shortly and we will find out who will battle it out. Stay tuned...

Raheem Sterling’s resurgence at Manchester City this season has been a delight to club fans and England supporters. The forward didn’t have the most consistent campaign in the 20/21 season but he’s put that to bed with him being back to his best.

But while he has been a menace on the field, it has taken him a while to find the back of the net of late.

Our reporter Vithushan Ehantharajah writes: “Raheem Sterling’s Saturday night hat-trick against Norwich City were his first goals of 2022. For a player who has worked hard over the last few seasons to add a scoring string to his impressive bow, it is a bit odd it has taken him about a month-and-a-half to find the back of the net.

“That’s not to say he has not been influential in the new year. Far from it. Just last week, he won a penalty that allowed Riyad Mahrez to open the scoring in the victory over Brentford. He was a diligent presence in the most important win over 2022 so far against Chelsea, too, and on 1 January against Arsenal.

“Just as it was at Carrow Road, he played from start to finish in both victories worth the same number of points as this one here, but carried far more jeopardy. Like Kevin De Bruyne, he could have spent the game on the bench against Norwich and, with all due respect, Manchester City would have still won comfortably.”

Will he feature on tonight’s team sheet? We will find out shortly but for now read the full piece on Sterling:

There won’t be any love lost once the match gets underway but Sporting boss Ruben Amorim has shared his admiration for City manager Pep Guardiola in the build-up to their last 16 clash.

“My manager reference has always been (Jose) Mourinho, but Guardiola is, in my opinion, the best coach in the world today,” said Amorim.

“Manchester City are the best team in technical and tactical terms. Sporting are very structured, not very flexible, but Guardiola is the opposite and has a huge flexibility.

“It’s like I’m in elementary school and he’s in higher education. He is a reference for all managers.”

We will see if that managerial excellence comes out in this match in just over an hour.

Pote is the big doubt for Sporting after he missed the draw with Porto on Friday night. He has been a key player this term and is likely to come straight back into the side if recovered, even if a full game is beyond him. Domestic suspensions don’t count in Europe, which is just as well as Sporting had three sent-off against their rivals.

Man City will be without right-back Kyle Walker, who is suspended for both legs of this tie. Jack Grealish is the only other major injury doubt, though he may not have started anyway with Raheem Sterling having netted a hat-trick at the weekend and competition for places fierce.