Arsenal vs Sporting. Prediction and Preview. Probable Lineups, Team News, Stats and more
Arsenal FC will host Sporting CP in the UEFA Europa League 1/8 finals match at Emirates Stadium. The fixture will take place on Friday, March 17, beginning at 01:30 IST.
Arsenal and Sporting will face each other in the decisive match for the Europa League quarter-finals. After they drew a tight first leg in Portugal (2-2), everything depends on the outcome of the second leg at the Emirates Stadium in London. Arsenal are under pressure from their fans and critics who are demanding success on the European stage. Sporting, on the other hand, want to create a sensation and knock out one of the giants of European football. Who will be able to overcome their weaknesses and survive this fierce contest? Find out in our in-depth prediction!
Parimatch News will tell you everything you need to know ahead of the upcoming match.
Arsenal News & Current Form:
Arsenal were making good progress in the first half of the tournament. A three-match winless streak in February had cost Mikel Arteta’s side the lead and could have knocked them out, but the Gunners pulled themselves together and proved that they can overcome difficult tournament situations, with their championship ambitions being tested in their own way. The London side have won their last five English Premier League games by a combined score of 15-4. In doing so, they have increased their lead over runners-up Manchester City FC to five points.
Arsenal have already crashed out of the domestic cups, and the fight for the EPL title is certainly a higher priority for the Gunners than the Europa League. However, it’s unlikely that Mikel Arteta is ready to say goodbye to the European Cups with a light heart. He has a young, talented and trophy-hungry team.
The Londoners had no trouble reaching the 1/8 finals – winning five games, with one defeat, to secure first place in the quartet. Given the team’s form in the Premier League, it seemed that the team was not playing to their maximum potential in UEL, and the now Arsenal fans are going to see it in the decisive part of the play-offs.
Martin Ødegaard – best Premier League player of the year and Bukayo Saka – young player of the year according to London Football Awards
The first game of the 1/8 finals saw a 2-2 draw with Sporting in Lisbon. It is worth recalling that the London side were first to take the lead, but the Portuguese were already leading 2-1 on 55 minutes. The final result came on 62 minutes, when Sporting’s Hidemasa Morita scored a goal into his own net.
“We knew that the match would not be easy. Sporting have a good team, good players, good tactics. We accept this draw and hopefully we can finish the job in London,”
said Granit Xhaka after the game.
Arsenal faced Fulham FC in the EPL after a draw in Portugal. And the Gunners were away and it’s always tough to play against the Cottagers at their field. However, Mikel Arteta’s men have shown their championship-like character round after round. And now the team did not even think about losing points – a confident 3-0 win. On the plus side, Gabriel Jesus has recovered from a lengthy injury – he has already played the first 14 minutes as a substitute.
The Gunners have lost just once in their 8 home games against Portuguese clubs in all competitions, the last time they lost to SL Benfica back in the 1991/92 season. Sporting are winless in their last 9 games against English sides in European competitions.
Coach Arteta about the current condition of Eddie Nketiah:
“It’s getting better. He’s still in the boot. He’s still a few weeks away and we need to be patient. It was a nasty injury and he has a big challenge ahead of him. Thank God it’s not as bad as it could have been.”
About Gabriel, he said:
“We have to manage his minutes, his involvement. He’s feeling good and every day he’s training he says his sensations are better so that’s really positive. It was great to see him back. You can feel the happiness of everyone around him. We missed him and now he’s back.”
Sporting News & Current Form:
In the 1/16 finals of the Europa League play-offs, the Portuguese were drawn against Denmark’s FC Midtjylland. In the first leg, Sporting ended in a 1-1 draw. Such a result did not make the Lisbon side clear favorites to play the return leg on the Danish club’s pitch. Yes, Sporting’s chances of overall victory were higher, but an away draw was left in the hands of the Dutch. The game on the field of the Danes brought, to put it mildly, an unexpected result. Sporting won 4-0 and confidently reached the 1/8 finals of the tournament.
Currently Sporting are fourth in the Liga Portugal standings. Team has collected 50 points in 24 games (18 wins, 1 draw, 5 defeats). The number of points of the Lisbon side is 15 less than that of Benfica, which is solely in the lead, and 7 points less than FC Porto, which occupies the second position. So now the Greens are trying to reach the UEFA Champions League zone, and at the same time move up the Europa League standings. Sporting also finished 3-0 up at the weekend. Lisbon managed to beat mid-table side Boavista FC.
Hidemasa Morita – a high-scoring player of Sporting Clube de Portugal
The Portuguese tried to match the quality of attacks to Arsenal’s and held on to a draw in the end, although they could have lost in the closing stages. This result leaves some chances for Ruben Amorim’s side to progress to the quarterfinals, but it will be extremely difficult to beat such a serious opponent on their field.
Two of the Portuguese players – Sebastian Coates and Hidemasa Morita – dropped out for the return leg due to yellow cards, which will certainly not help their confidence ahead of a tough trip to London.
However, apart from the Gunners, Sporting also have another problem – an injury to goalkeeper Antonio Adan, who has defended the team’s goal in the vast majority of the team’s matches – in 35 of the 41 games this season.
Arsenal form guide: W-W-W-W-D-W
Sporting form guide: W-W-W-W-D-W
Arsenal vs Sporting Head-To-Head Record:
| Arsenal | Draw | Sporting |
| 1 | 2 | 0 |
- October 25, 2018: Sporting 0 – 1 Arsenal (UEFA Europa League);
- November 8, 2018: Arsenal 0 – 0 Sporting (UEFA Europa League);
- March 9, 2023: Sporting 2 – 2 Arsenal (UEFA Europa League).
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Arsenal vs Sporting Predicted XI:
Arsenal possible starting lineup (4-3-3): Turner; Tomiyasu, Saliba, Gabriel, Tierney; Jorginho, Partey, Vieira; Nelson, Trossard, Smith Rowe.
Sporting possible starting lineup (3-4-2-1): Adan; St. Juste, Inácio, Reis; Esgaio, Ugarte, Goncalves, Santos; Edwards, Paulinho, Trincão.
Statistical preview of the match Arsenal vs Sporting:
- Arsenal’s First XI average age is 25.0 yrs.
- Sporting’s First XI average age is 25.3 yrs.
- Arsenal are unbeaten in their last 6 matches.
- Sporting are unbeaten in their last 7 matches.
- Arsenal conceded an average of 0.80 goals per game in their last 5 games.
- Arsenal are scoring an average of 2.60 goals per game in their last 5 games.
- Arsenal are scoring in their last 8 games.
- Sporting conceded an average of 0.40 goals per game in their last 5 games.
- Sporting are scoring an average of 2.40 goals per game in their last 5 games.
- Sporting score in their last 10 games.
- Arsenal serve an average of 7 corners in Europa League on their field.
- Sporting serve an average of 3.25 corners away in Europa League.
- In this season, Arsenal got an average of 3.67 yellow cards per match on their own field.
- Sporting got an average of 3.75 yellow cards in away games this season.
- In the past five games at home, Arsenal have distinguished themselves by a goal three times before half-time.
- Arsenal are unbeaten at home in 18 of their last 20 games.
- Sporting are unbeaten away in 6 consecutive matches.
What has been said before the match:
Arsenal coach Mikel Arteta ahead of the return game with Sporting:
“First of all, boys get on really well and you can sense that. There is a good combination of desire to win and competition between the players, and they also know when to enjoy it. So that’s why the atmosphere is always good.”
“We’re looking to win. That was the same when we were in Lisbon, but we’re gonna have to do better than we did in Lisbon to win against Sporting tomorrow.”
“The desire to win the ball back against Fulham, the aggression that we showed, and how we defended the boxes. That’s something we’re gonna have to show tomorrow against a top-quality side. They punish you the moment you give them some space and so, tomorrow that cannot be the case.”
“We haven’t had big European nights for three years due to COVID especially. Tomorrow is probably the first one that we’ve had for a while and hopefully, we’ll build a really good atmosphere and enjoy it. Our supporters will be there against a really good team that is going to put a big challenge in front of us.”
Sporting boss Ruben Amorim about his thoughts before the Europa League clash:
“The tie is open. It’s difficult, obviously. Arsenal are a team that pushes opponents to play on the edge of their area; we have to be able to defend. I would be happier if [the first leg] had ended 2-1 or 3-1, which it could have been, but after [the draw] we believe even more strongly that we can go through.”
Arsenal vs Sporting Prediction:
Arsenal are poised to crush Sporting: they have all the trump cards up their sleeve – сlass (the Gunners’ line-up is worth €570m more than the Lions), support (Emirates will explode with applause for their heroes) and form (the Londoners have excellent fitness and the will to win, as proven by their five-match winning streak in the EPL and their most recent convincing win over a resilient Fulham). Now, they won’t be waiting for a gift of fate, but will seize the initiative to progress to the quarter-finals without much hassle. Arteta and his training staff have well-examined their opponent to set up players thoroughly and came up with tricky combinations and unexpected solutions in order to dictate the tempo and narrative of the game.
Yet Sporting did not come to see off Arsenal’s feast: they still have the passion and ability to fight for a glorious chance. Ruben Amorim’s side showed this in the last match, scoring two goals against the Londoners. The Lions now feel powerful and confident playing away, having won five games in a row. So do not take them lightly: they are capable of scoring at least one goal and putting the Gunners in a difficult position.
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Parimatch News staff prediction:
We say: Both teams will score and Arsenal will win – Yes.
