Sporting CP vs Arsenal – Match preview and team news | OneFootball

Arsenal make the trip to the Portuguese capital to face Sporting CP in the Champions League tonight.

Sporting have thrived in the competition this campaign. Their unbeaten record puts them in second place in the league standings.

Arsenal’s unbeaten record vanished in their last European outing when Inter narrowly edged them in a cagey 1-0 scoreline at the San Siro.

The hosts will be without defender Zeno Debast after the 21-year-old picked up a thigh issue during international duty with Belgium. Pedro Goncalves, who netted a wondergoal against Arsenal the last time the sides met, is also expected to miss out.

Mikel Arteta’s options have been replenished in recent weeks with the likes of Riccardo Calafiori and club captain Martin Odegaard recovering from their injuries. There’s more positive news for the Gunners with Kieran Tierney set to be involved in the squad for the first time in 15 months after training during the week.

Sporting CP vs Arsenal – Match preview and team news

Form

Sporting: WWWWW

Following the departure of manager Ruben Amorim to Manchester United, new boss Joao Pereira commenced his tenure with a resounding 6-0 cup win over Amarante.

Remarkably, their progression into the next round was their ninth consecutive victory in all competitions. The Lisbon-based club have a perfect record in the Primeira Liga this season, overcoming all 11 opponents to take maximum points.

Sporting have transferred their domestic form into Europe and are sitting pretty in second place in the UCL table. They have recorded ten points from four games, which includes a 4-1 defeat of Manchester City and wins over Sturm Graz and Lille.

Arsenal: WLLDW

Arsenal returned to winning ways in the league at the weekend with a comfortable 3-0 victory over Nottingham Forest.

Martin Odegaard was instrumental to the win and starlet Ethan Nwaneri made history as he became the ninth youngest scorer in Premier League history.

Surprisingly, that was the Gunners’ first league win since the start of October and their unconvincing form has been on show in Europe.

A narrow win over Shakhtar Donetsk preceded a flat performance at the San Siro, as Inter condemned Arsenal to their first European defeat of the campaign.

Mikel Arteta will be hoping his side have put that testing period behind them as they welcome several key figures back into the fold.

Last Meeting: Arsenal 1-1 Sporting, Europa League, 16th March 2023

A penalty shootout decided a Round of 16 tie between the two sides, with Sporting holding their nerve to progress. The second leg was perfectly poised after a tense first leg in Portugal ended 2-2.

Arsenal resumed control of the tie early on as their skipper Granit Xhaka blasted home in the first period. However, Sporting struck back with a vengeance just after the hour mark through an absolute stunner from Pedro Goncalves.

The Portuguese midfielder spotted Aaron Ramsdale off his line and beat the goalkeeper from all of 40 yards to send the Sporting fans into raptures.

Ramsdale atoned for his error shortly after as he bravely denied Marcus Edwards. With the scores level, the match went into extra time and the visitors were reduced to 10 men in the dying embers as Manuel Ugarte received a second yellow card.

In the shootout, Gabriel Martinelli saw his spot kick saved, allowing Nuno Santos to convert the decisive penalty and send Sporting into the quarter-finals.

Predicted Lineups

Sporting: Israel; Quenda, Matheus, Inacio, Diomande, Araujo; Hjulmand, Morita; Trincao, Gyokores, Edwards.

Arsenal: Raya; Timber, Saliba, Gabriel, Calafiori; Rice, Partey; Saka, Odegaard, Martinelli; Havertz.

Who is the referee?

Polish referee Szymon Marciniak will be the match official. He will be assisted by Adam Kupsik and Radosław Siejka while Paweł Raczkowski will be the fourth official. The VAR will be Tomasz Kwiatkowski and he will be assisted by Jérôme Brisad.

What channel will Arsenal vs Sporting be on?

Arsenal’s clash with Sporting Lisbon will be shown on TNT Sports 1 and Discovery+.

What time is kick-off?

Kick-off at the Estadio Jose Alvalade will be at 20:00 GMT on Tuesday 26th November 2024.

Odds

Sporting – 21/10

Draw – 5/2

Arsenal – 6/5

Read – Five things we learned from the Premier League weekend

See more – Premier League Awards – Champions in chaos, quality Cunha

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