Arsenal vs Sporting CP prediction corresponding to the second leg of the UEFA Europa League Round of 16 that will be played on Thursday, March 16, 2023 at the Emirates Stadium in London.
Arsenal vs Sporting CP preview
A place in the Europa League quarter-finals will be on the line when Arsenal and Sporting CP meet on Thursday night at the Emirates Stadium. The Gunners are enjoying a Premier League season to remember, with the team leading the chase for the domestic trophy, but they also have big ambitions for the Europa League round of 16.
There are no new casualties for the home team, but Egyptian midfielder Elneny is still in the recovery room. Eddie Nketiah should recover in time to face the Lions, but he is likely to start on the bench.
The visitors, meanwhile, managed a good 2-2 draw against Arsenal in Lisbon, but in London they will have a much bigger fish to fry. Given that Arsenal impressed in their 3-0 win over Fulham at the weekend, home win should be considered. The good news for the Primeira Liga side is that midfielder Manuel Ugarte is back after serving a suspension.
Arsenal Form
Once again, Arsenal have been left out of the Champions League, but it seems that for the moment they are making up for it in the Europa League. The Gunners had a great group stage, finishing well ahead of PSV Eindhoven, Bodo/Glimt and FC Zurich to avoid the play-off.
Last week, they dominated the game against Sporting, but could only achieve a 2-2 draw, which they will have to improve on Thursday. Meanwhile, the Londoners are on course to win their first English league title in almost 20 years.
Still leaders of the Premier League with a five-point advantage over Manchester City, they won last Sunday at Fulham for the fifth time in a row, after beating Everton (4-0) and Bournemouth (2-3) in recent weeks.
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Injured since the World Cup, the Brazilian striker Gabriel Jesus (5 goals and 5 assists in the Premier League) will continue to be unable to take his place in Mikel Arteta’s squad. In addition, substitute midfielder Elneny is expected to drop out of the squad for this match as well.
Instead, Nketiah (9 goals in all competitions) should make a comeback after missing the first leg, as should Belgian striker Trossard. For the rest, the Londoners will be able to count on the rest of their offensive assets.
Among them, the midfielder Odegaard (10 goals and 6 assists in the Premier League) and the wingers Saka (9 goals and 8 assists) and Martinelli (12 goals and 2 assists). Saliba, a former Marseille player, is an impressive presence in the center of defense, and was even able to score in the first leg.
Forma de Sporting CP
Unlike their rival, Sporting already had a taste of the Champions League earlier in the season, when they finished third in their group, behind Tottenham and Eintracht Frankfurt, but ahead of OM.
The Portuguese team had to go through the play-offs to continue in the Europa League, but they prevailed over Midtjylland thanks to their 0-4 victory in the second leg, despite drawing 1 in the first leg. The Portuguese, who suffered in last Thursday’s game, did their best to avoid defeat (2-2) against the Gunners.
In the Sagres League, the fourth place behind Benfica, Porto and Braga, Rubén Amorim’s men beat Portimonense for the third time in a row (0-1) and added their fourth straight victory on Sunday against Boavista (3- 0).
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The midfielder Bragança continues to recover from a long injury and will not be at the Emirates Stadium, nor will the defender Héctor Bellerín (on loan). The holding midfielder Ugarte, suspended last week after receiving three yellow cards in the European event, will reappear this week.
For the rest, the entire Lisbon squad should be available, starting with their strong men. We are obviously thinking of the important midfielder Morita (5 goals), who scored an own goal in the first leg, the captain Coates in defense, the English winger Edwards (6 goals and 4 assists) and the excellent midfielder Pedro Gonçalves (12 goals and 5 assists in the league).
Also notable is the presence of the interesting Nuno Santos (7 goals) and striker Paulinho (4 goals) who was decisive last week and last weekend in the league.
How to enter Arsenal vs Sporting CP
Curiously, we’ve only seen one goal in a doubleheader between these two teams in the UEFA Europa League group stage back in the 2018/19 campaign. Counting last week’s clash in Lisbon, two of the last three head-to-heads between these rivals have ended in draws.
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Arsenal vs Sporting CP prediction and bet
Both teams score
The favoritism of the Premier League leaders did not prevent Sporting from scoring twice in Portugal last week, and betting on both teams scoring in this second leg seems the best option. Amorim’s men have scored on all four of their away trips in Europe this season, while the Gunners have kept a clean sheet three times in a row in this competition, and of their three opponents, only PSV Eindhoven could come close to quality. Sporting offense.
Arsenal gana
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A 2-1 win for the Gunners is worth betting on in the correct result markets, because Arteta’s side have been loaded with goals of late, with 12 in their last four games, while Sporting have not conceded more than two since the 4-2 loss to Marseille some 30 games ago.
