'Bare bones' Man City to still saunter through
Manchester City will be down to just 14 senior players according to Pep Guardiola for the second leg of their last 16 Champions League tie against Sporting CP at the Etihad. The hosts enjoy a practically unassailable 5-0 lead from their game in Lisbon, and even a deficiency of personnel, particularly in defence, will not change the inevitable outcome. Read our preview here:
Mature Fern
Kyle Walker is suspended and João Cancelo is ill, so both will be joining Nathan Aké and Rúben Dias on the sidelines. Potentially, this opens up at least one place for a player from the academy, but Guardiola might instead choose to keep John Stones at right-back and shift veteran Fernandinho into the defensive unit. The Brazilian is weighing up his options with the season and his 37th birthday just two months away, and he can be assured of a professional if not polished performance in an unfamiliar role.
Sour Vinagre
Rúben Amorim has little to lose but some semblance of pride in going for it on Wednesday evening, though as Manchester United found out at the weekend, gaining possession of the ball might be an onerous task in itself. Left wing-back Rúben Vinagre, on loan from Wolverhampton Wanderers, might enjoy more freedom in the final third than he'd otherwise have anticipated, and any chances he's able to create will have to be gobbled up by sole striker Paulinho.
Betting tip
The back four in light blue might have a very different look from the unit that barely had a kick in the second half of their rout of the Red Devils on Sunday. Sporting CP have an onerous task to even close the gap on aggregate, but Casumo at least have odds of 2.32 for both teams to score.
