Sporting Lisbon vs Arsenal

High-flying Premier League pacesetters Arsenal head to the Estadio Jose Alvalade to encounter Sporting Lisbon in the first leg of their Europa League last-16 tie.

After switching over from the Champions League group stages, Sporting Lisbon dispatched Danish outfit Midtjylland in the Europa League knockout playoffs 5-1 on aggregate despite drawing the first leg at home. Even though they’re entering this showdown as betting outsiders, ‘Los Leoes’ can rely on their eye-catching 100% progression ratio across their six previous Europa League knockout ties against English sides. Against this backdrop, they’ve failed to score in all four European meetings with Arsenal. But having won four competitive matches in a row ahead of the kick-off, including three in which they netted multiple goals, Ruben Amorim’s team should be confident about breaking their scoring duck against the Premier League leaders. However, Sporting’s patchy five-game home form in all competitions (W2, D1, L2) means they cannot take anything for granted.

As for Arsenal, last weekend’s standout, come-from-behind 3-2 home triumph over Bournemouth kept them five points clear at the top of the Premier League table, extending their winning streak in all competitions to four matches. Back to European commitments after skipping the knockout playoffs due to a top-table finish in Europa League Group A (W5, L1), the ‘Gunners’ are looking to maintain an upturn in away form. Mikel Arteta’s men have gone from two consecutive away losses to back-to-back victories, with three of those four games (won/lost) yielding an identical 1-0 scoreline. Another cagey contest looms as they’ve kept a clean sheet in four of their last five Europa League fixtures, highlighting their backline as the team’s strong suit.