Sporting have won 14 of their last 15 games and only lost in the Portuguese Super Cup this season.

Both City and Sporting have seven points from three Champions League games so far.

In 2022, City beat Sporting 5-0 on aggregate in the round of 16 of the competition.

“I feel like I’m a better coach (now),” Amorim said. “Unfortunately what I feel is that Pep Guardiola has also become a better coach, so the gap persists.

“(City has) the best team in the world and the best coach in the world.”

Portuguese City midfielder Bernardo Silva was Amorim’s teammate at Benfica in 2013-14.

“He always showed that he could read the game because he played in different positions: as a defender, on the left, as a midfielder,” Silva said Monday.

“When he arrived, Sporting had not been champion for 20 years. He changed Sporting’s game paradigm. They are, by far, the best team in Portugal.

“It will be a rival, but I am happy that someone else from Portugal is in the best league in the world.

“When Rubén is manager of Manchester United, we will worry about that. Now we want three points to be among the top eight.”