Europa League: Arsenal Have Sporting in Their Crosshairs

Sporting Lisbon vs Arsenal

Europa League action is back in Portugal as Sporting host Arsenal at the Jose Alvalade Stadium for the first leg of their Round of 16 tie.

Sporting have made it this far after beating Midtjylland convincingly in the second leg of their tie. They have also improved their form in the Primeira Liga, winning four of their last five domestic matches.

The Gunners, on the other hand, are still on top of the Premier League table. Like Sporting, Arsenal have also won four of their last five domestic matches.

Despite being in great form, Sporting are the underdogs since they haven’t beaten Arsenal here in Europe, but they’ll use this as motivation when they host them on Thursday night.

Talking Points

Sporting’s strike duo needs to click

Pedro Goncalves and Marcus Edwards are two of Sporting’s attacking threats, and they must be on target to go toe-to-toe with Arsenal.

Goncalves is Primeira Liga’s leading scorer with 12 goals, and his 18 goal involvements are by far the highest for Sporting. He recorded a brace against Midtjylland in the second leg, which secured their spot in the Round of 16.

The 24-year-old can play either as an attacking midfielder or as a winger. He has created 35 chances directly when he carries the ball, which is at least five more than any player in their domestic league.

Marcus Edwards is also making waves in Portugal after being shipped out of Tottenham a few years ago. The English native may be small at 5’6”, but his pace and clinical finishing are attributes that would give Arsenal’s defence headaches.

Mikel Arteta likely to rotate his squad

After this game against Sporting on Thursday, Arsenal only have three days’ rest before they visit Fulham, so Mikel Arteta is expected to rotate his squad.

Arsenal are on the back of a 3-2 comeback win over Bournemouth on Saturday, as they rallied from a two-goal deficit to stay on top of the Premier League standings with a five-point cushion over Manchester City.

Philip Billing and Marco Senesi put the Cherries on top, but Thomas Partey and Ben White levelled for the Gunners after 70 minutes. And then, super sub Reiss Nelson scored a dramatic 97^th-minute winner, which sparked bedlam at the Emirates.

Nelson also assisted on White’s equaliser, making him the unlikely hero for the Gunners. The 23-year-old winger might be tasked with trying to create new Europa League 2023 highlights on Thursday.

Takehiro Tomiyasu was awful against Bournemouth, and he was substituted at halftime in place of Ben White. Mikel Arteta might be thinking about starting Ben White as a full-back, with Kieran Tierney as the second option.

Leandro Trossard was forced off from the match against the Cherries due to what appeared to be a groin injury, meaning he won’t be available against Sporting on Thursday.

Mikel Arteta is hoping that Eddie Nketiah will be fully recovered from his ankle injury by Thursday to replace Leandro Trossard, who was playing as their false nine.

History

Sporting and Arsenal meet for the fifth time in Europe this Thursday. The last time that these two sides faced off was in the 2018-19 Europa League group stage, where both of them held the top two spots in Group E over Vorskla and Qarabag FK.

After a goalless draw in their first group stage meeting that season, Arsenal won the next fixture with a scoreline of 1-0, thanks to Danny Welbeck. That win was the reason why the Gunners took the top spot.

Arsenal went all the way to the final, losing 4-1 to Chelsea. On the other hand, Sporting were eliminated by Villarreal in the Round of 32 play-offs.

In this particular fixture, Arsenal have yet to lose or concede a goal. They’re also undefeated in six previous meetings with Portuguese opponents in the Europa League (W3, D3).

However, Sporting advanced from each of their previous six encounters with English teams in the Europa League knockout stages.

Betting Tip 

The SBOTOP Europa League 2023 odds favour Arsenal to win. For this game, we’re going for the Gunners to win at 2.10, but Sporting are not to be underestimated since a draw or a win for them is priced at 3.20 in the 1X2 market.Sporting have had a difficult time shipping in goals, and this might continue to be the case on Thursday. Arsenal are going to do their part on that end, though, so you might also consider going for Total Goal 2-3 at 2.16 as your alternative bet.

 

●●●

CHECK OUT OUR BLOG FOR MORE FOOTBALL STORIES & ODDS

Stay updated with everything sports and betting.

Follow us on social Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.