Arsenal v Sporting Lisbon – Preview, Predictions and Best Bets

Arsenal welcome Sporting CP with a place at the Emirates on Thursday night in the quarter-finals of the Europa League to grab. The first leg ended 2-2 in Portugal a week ago. The Gunners have won five straight league games. Sporting won at the weekend but are still five points adrift of places in the UEFA Champions League.

Arsenal form

The Gunners are back in top form after breaking a four-game winning streak, three in the league and one in the FA Cup. After a 1:3 home defeat against ManCity, they gave up their place in the table. Since then, they have won five league games in a row. A 4-0 home win over Everton made it three straight EPL wins to stay five points clear.

Arsenal then came back from 2-0 after an hour to beat Bournemouth 3-2 after a 98th-minute winner. After a 2-2 draw in the first leg a week ago, they beat Fulham 3-0 at the weekend. Mikel Arteta’s side dominated the first half and took a three-goal lead, although it could have been 5-0 or 6-0 at the break.

Arsenal team news

Arteta had Gabriel Jesus back for the last 20 or so minutes at Fulham, a huge boost for the squad. He could appear again in the second half of this game. Eddie Nketiah remains a serious doubt but he could return to the bench. Midfielder Mohamed Elneny is injured.

Arsenal will play close to their best XI but someone like Jorginho could come in to protect Thomas Partey. The Gunners dropped some key men off early at Craven Cottage to keep them fresher for this one.

Arsenal motivation

The Gunners have completed seven games, only having to leave London once. They have a chance to reach a quarter final and the motivation will be high.

Sunday’s game against Crystal Palace is top priority and Arsenal are hoping to win that game in 90 minutes and not be forced to play extra time.

Sporting Lisbon form

After two defeats in four games against FC Porto – in the final of the Portuguese League Cup and at home in the Premeira Liga – Sporting are unbeaten in seven games. They have won five and drawn two of them, including a 3-0 home win over Boavista on Sunday.

Away they are six games unbeaten and they have won five in a row. Their only loss of points was a 2-2 draw at leaders Benfica. In the first leg they produced 2.20 xG from just 32% possession but couldn’t hold the 2-1 lead. They drew 1-1 with Spurs in North London earlier this season and drew 0-0 on their last visit to the Emirates.

Sporting Lisbon team news

Ruben Amorim has some things to plan for. Experienced centre-back Sebastian Coates is suspended in the middle of the back three but key midfielder Manuel Ugarte remains after missing the first leg. He will start for Hidemasa Morita, an own-goal scorer in the first leg who is also suspended at the Emirates.

Matheus Reis is set to replace Coates. First class goalkeeper Antonio Adan should shrug off a shot to start. Trincao and Paulinho received partial breaks at the weekend and should return to the starting XI.

Sporty Lisbon motivation

Sporting will be hugely motivated to progress from this duel. A draw would be enough to put this into extra time, something they don’t have to avoid (unlike Arsenal).

Sporting Lisbon don’t have a game scheduled for next weekend so the attention is 100% on this one.

Important statistics

arsenal have won 13 of their last 17 home games this season (all competitions)

arsenal have kept 4 consecutive Europa League clean sheets at home

arsenal has scored more than 2 goals in 13 of their last 16 league home games

Sporty CP are without a win in 9 European away games against English clubs (L5, U4)

sporty Pedro Gonçalves has scored 5 goals in his last 6 away games

Verdict

The Gunners should have way too much quality for Sporting CP, especially with Jesus as an option after injury. It’s worth checking the starting XI before kick-off to see exactly how many players will be rested by Arteta and who constitutes his top three for goalscorer betting.

Best Bet: Arsenal Win HT/Win FT by 2.00
Alternative bet: Arsenal to score over 2.5 team goals at 2.25
Alternative bet: Arsenal win by 2:25 to 0
Build-a-Bet: Arsenal wins first half + Trossard all-time scorer at 3.97