Sporting Lisbon vs. Arsenal: Champions League Predictions (26/11/2024)

Arsenal continue Champions League action away to Portuguese heavyweights Sporting Lisbon on Tuesday evening, having hinted at a winter resurgence with a morale-boosting Premier League victory.

Over the weekend, Arsenal scored three goals without reply against Nottingham Forest, while their hosts began the post-Ruben Amorim era with a 6-0 Taca de Portugal thrashing of Amarante.

Previous Matches and Head-to-head

A two-week break was just what Mikel Arteta and his teammates needed, as Arsenal ended their depressing four-game Premier League winless streak with a near-perfect day against a previously defensively strong Nottingham Forest.

Bukayo Saka and Thomas Partey scored twice before Ethan Nwaneri scored his first Premier League goal, making him the second-youngest Arsenal player to register in the league behind Cesc Fabregas.

Nwaneri was also one of the brightest lights on the San Siro turf a few weeks ago. Still, the youngster could not rescue Arsenal’s bacon when a Hakan Calhanoglu penalty pushed Inter Milan to a 1-0 victory, condemning the Gunners to their first UCL defeat.

Arsenal is now 12th in the 36-team standings after suffering their first loss - and surrendering their first goal - in the new Champions League, but they are just two points away from a spot in the top eight, which would assure safe passage into the knockout stages.

Arsenal’s toothlessness in Milan should be a thing of the past now that string-puller Martin Odegaard has returned, but Champions League away days have not been their strong suit in recent years; they have gone winless in five consecutive road games in the competition and failed to score in each of their last four.

Only one Premier League team has ever gone scoreless in five consecutive away games in Europe’s top competition - Manchester United from 2004 to 2005 - and even an Amorim-less Sporting have every reason to think they can doom Arsenal to that same destiny.

Joao Pereira has been given the reins for three years, and their former revered head coach is now settled at Manchester United. He began his reign with a six-goal thrashing of Amarante in Friday’s Taca de Portugal clash, in which rumoured Arsenal target Viktor Gyokeres scored.

The dazzling Swede has recently ripped Premier League teams to tears. Gyokeres scored a memorable hat-trick to help Sporting defeat Manchester City 4-1 at Estadio Jose Alvalade in Amorim’s penultimate Champions League match as manager.

Only faultless Liverpool has outperformed second-placed Sporting in the current UCL season. Pereira's men aim for a remarkable tenth consecutive win in all competitions on Tuesday; their nine straight victories have resulted in an astounding 31 goals.

The hosts are also riding a 14-game winning streak at home in all competitions since March’s 1-1 draw with Atalanta BC in the Europa League, but despite knocking Arsenal out of the 2022-23 Europa League last 16 on penalties, they have yet to record a 90-minute victory over the revitalized Gunners.

Sporting Lisbon x Arsenal Team News

Arsenal’s medical room has emptied dramatically in recent weeks, with just the long-term trio of Ben White (knee), Takehiro Tomiyasu (knee), and Kieran Tierney (hamstring) - the latter of whom has returned to training - set to miss Tuesday’s encounter due to injury.

Riccardo Calafiori, Saka, Leandro Trossard, and Declan Rice all overcame recent worries to join the matchday squad against Forest, albeit the latter was just an unused replacement as Arteta sprang a few selection shocks, including inserting Jorginho and Gabriel Jesus into the starting lineup.

However, Rice will almost definitely reclaim his proper midfield berth in the visitors’ starting lineup, which should also include the well-rested Gabriel Martinelli and Kai Havertz, albeit Partey vs Merino presents a fascinating engine room quandary for Arteta to overcome.

Sporting is also in good health for Tuesday’s encounter, with just Nuno Santos, a long-term knee injury, and Pedro Goncalves, who scored a spectacular long-range goal at the Emirates in 2023, missing out.

With Goncalves going to miss a few more weeks due to a muscle ailment, ex-Tottenham Hotspur starlet Marcus Edwards, who scored twice in the hammering of Amarante, might be handed the opportunity in a terrifying front three with Trincao and the prolific Gyokeres.

Gyokeres, who formerly played for Coventry City, has already contributed 28 goals in only 19 games in all competitions this season, 24 of which have been his own, and four assists.

Our predictions

Full-time draw @ 3.55 on Sky247.ng

If Arsenal had gone to Sporting before the international break without Odegaard, Arteta’s side would have certainly suffered the same fate as Manchester City. Still, Saturday's outstanding performance should serve as the trigger for a Christmas revival.

As a result, we may see the Gunners breaking Sporting’s immaculate home record in 2024-25. Still, the Portuguese giants are too hot for any team to handle up front and can limit Arteta’s side to just one point in what should be a Champions League classic.

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