Arsenal to gain sizeable first-leg advantage in Europa League clash with Sporting
Sporting CP vs Arsenal - 09/03/2023
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Sporting Lisbon and Arsenal will meet at the Estadio Jose Alvalade for the first leg of their UEFA Europa League round of 16 clash on Thursday evening.
Arsenal find themselves at the summit of the English Premier League table, while Sporting occupy fourth place in Portugal’s Primeira Liga.
Can the Lions produce a spirited performance on home soil? Or will the Gunners flex their muscles in the first leg? It’s time to take a closer look at the teams.
Let’s start with the hosts, Sporting Lisbon, who find themselves in the Europa League after finishing third in their Champions League group earlier this season.
The Portuguese outfit then claimed an impressive 5-1 aggregate victory over FC Midtjylland in the Europa League knockout round playoffs, claiming a 4-0 win in Denmark.
Following back-to-back league victories, Sporting head into Thursday’s clash on a four-game winning streak across all competitions.
The Lions have also kept three consecutive clean sheets, although they will likely struggle to achieve a fourth straight shutout against free-scoring Arsenal.
As for the Gunners, they finished atop Group A – winning five of their six games – to book their place in the last 16 of the Europa League.
It is also worth noting that Mikel Arteta’s men kept four clean sheets during the group stage, although they only managed to score over 2.5 goals on one occasion.
On Saturday, Arsenal came from 2-0 down to beat Bournemouth 3-2 in dramatic circumstances, extending their Premier League winning streak to four games in the process.
Having won 20 of their 26 league matches this season – suffering just three defeats along the way – the Gunners find themselves five points clear of Manchester City.
Head-to-head: Sporting and Arsenal have previously faced each other four times in European competition, with the Gunners yet to lose or concede a goal against the Lions.
When the teams last met in the Europa League back in 2018, Arsenal claimed a 1-0 victory in Portugal before recording a goalless draw in London.
Team news: Sporting will be without Daniel Braganca on Thursday as the midfielder continues to recover from a cruciate ligament rupture.
Gabriel Jesus, Leandro Trossard and Mohamed Elneny are all injured for Arsenal, while Eddie Nketiah is a doubt for the first leg.
Regardless of Sporting’s home advantage, Arsenal look set to cruise to a fifth consecutive victory in all competitions on Thursday.
Forebet predicts that Arsenal will score over 1.5 goals and keep a clean sheet on their way to defeating Sporting.
Home team
Away team
Pred
Correct score
Avg. goals
Weather conditions
Coef.
Score
Live
coef.
UEL
242650
2
0 - 2
1.77
18°
2.10
3.50
3.40
2.10
no
no
no
2 - 2(1 - 1)
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