Sporting CP vs Manchester City Bet Builder Tips: Gyokeres & Hjulmand can help grind out this 10/1 Lisbon long shot

Manchester United fans might be nearly as invested as Manchester City supporters on Tuesday (20:00, TNT Sports 1) when the Citizens face off against Sporting CP in the Uefa Champions League. The Portuguese giants are managed by Ruben Amorim, who has agreed to replace Erik ten Hag as Red Devils boss but won't take charge at Old Trafford until November 11.

Below you can find my Sporting CP vs Manchester City bet builder tips ahead of this league phase meeting at the Estadio Jose Alvalade in Lisbon.

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Sporting CP vs Manchester City Odds

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Double Chance - Sporting or Draw

Manchester City suffered two defeats in less than 72 hours last week - is the end now nigh for Pep Guardiola? Obviously not, but there are chinks in the armor that have been exposed by a growing injury list that currently contains Ballon d'Or winner Rodri, key central defender Ruben Dias, and Brazilian wing wizard Savinho.

City's first defeat of the week was at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in the Carabao Cup last Wednesday. Guardiola restricted Josko Gvardiol, Bernardo Silva and Mateo Kovacic to substitute appearances against Spurs, while Erling Haaland didn't even make it off the bench so that probably shows how seriously he was taking that particular competition.

However, issues have also been evident in the Premier League, even when City's first-choice starting XI has been named. Since beating West Ham United 3-1 at the London Stadium on August 31, the Citizens haven't won a league game by more than one goal, beating Brentford (2-1), Fulham (3-2), Wolves (2-1) and Southampton (1-0), and drawing to Arsenal (2-2) and Newcastle United (1-1).

City were also held to a goalless draw by Inter Milan in their first Champions League game this term and only edged past Watford 2-1 at home in the Carabao Cup in September.

The 2023/24 Premier League champions battered Slovan Bratislava 4-0 in Slovakia and thrashed Sparta Prague 5-0 in Manchester in their last two European matches, but Sporting should provide a much sterner examination of their credentials in Lisbon this week.

The reigning Primeira Liga holders have been in stunning form this season, winning all 10 league games, scoring 35 goals and conceding just three times. The Lions are also in a strong position in the Champions League having beaten Sturm Graz (2-0) and Lille (2-0) either side of a 1-1 draw with PSV in Eindhoven.

Amorim's impending exit could well cause problems for Sporting but it's been so far, so good as they beat Nacional 3-1 in the League Cup last Tuesday before smashing Estela 5-1 on Friday.

With the issues at City currently, and Sporting winning all seven home games this term - including one against FC Porto - I believe the Portuguese side can at least avoid defeat in Lisbon.

Player Goals - Viktor Gyokeres (SPO) Anytime Goalscorer

Is there a more in-form striker in Europe than this man? Viktor Gyokeres enjoyed a sensational debut campaign with Sporting after joining from Coventry City in the summer of 2023, scoring 43 goals across all competitions.

However, it looks like he's taken his game up another level this season, netting 16 times in 15 appearances so far, including a couple in the Champions League - one against Lille and another at Sturm Graz.

The Swede has also scored on his last five starts for club and country, while he warmed up for the visit of City by bagging four at home to Estrela last Friday night.

Of course, one of the questions over Gyokeres is whether he can perform consistently against elite-level opposition, with the Portuguese top flight unarguably an easier competition to score in than the Champions League or, say, the Premier League.

The 26-year-old will be keen to show that he's not a flat-truck bully, and in fairness to him, he did open the scoring against Porto on August 31 - albeit from the penalty spot.

He also struck against Lille in Sporting's first European game this term, although a failure to net in the Netherlands against PSV will have disappointed him.

Tuesday is a great chance for Gyokeres to prove himself against one of the best teams in Europe and I think he'll take that opportunity with both hands.

Player Cards - Morten Hjulmand (SPO) Carded

Sporting captain Morten Hjulmand was booked 12 times in the Primeira Liga last season - unsurprising when you consider that, on average, he made 1.4 fouls per game in 2024/25.

The Denmark midfielder is only averaging 0.8 fouls per game in the Portuguese top flight this term and is yet to receive a card in the competition, although he is averaging 1.3 fouls per game in the Champions League.

Hjulmand has also managed to evade a booking in Europe, despite committing three fouls in one match against PSV.

He's likely to have his work cut out on Tuesday, however up against a City side that is likely to include the dribbling talents of Phil Foden and Bernardo Silva, as well as the sheer power of Haaland up top.

If Sporting are in front or drawing late on, as I'm basically predicting them to be above, then I think that only strengthens this selection as Hjulmand will be desperate to grind out a positive result for his side.

Team Stats - Manchester City Over 13.5 Shots

My fourth and final pick for this Bet Builder is for City to register at least 14 shots, something they have done in all three Champions League games in 2024/25 and their last 13 matches in all competitions; in fact, the only occasion in which they have failed to record over 13.5 shots was in a 2-0 win at Chelsea on August 18, when they registered 11 attempts.

If they are a goal or two down, or even drawing, as I have previously suggested they might, then this selection has an even greater chance of landing.

Sporting conceded 18 shots to PSV and 11 to Sturm Graz, so 14 for City is well within the realms of possibility.

Offers

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