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Mikel Arteta’s men were targeting an unprecedented quadruple just a few short weeks ago, but now only remain in the hunt for Premier League and European silverware.
Before last month’s EFL Cup final defeat to title rivals Manchester City, Arsenal had been beaten just once across all competitions this calendar year. However, they followed up their Wembley woes with a shock 2-1 loss to Championship outfit Southampton in Saturday’s FA Cup quarter-final tie.
Nevertheless, the Gunners have been virtually flawless on Champions League duty this term. After winning all of their opening eight matches to conclude the league phase at the summit of the 36-team table, Arsenal progressed to the quarter-final stage thanks to a 3-2 aggregate triumph over Bayer Leverkusen.
The North Londoners kept clean sheets in each of their first three away contests, before securing a 3-1 victory over Inter Milan in Lombardy and drawing 1-1 at the BayArena.
Sporting also clinched automatic qualification to the last sixteen as a result of an impressive set of early results, although the Portuguese giants have been largely reliant on their excellent home form.
Rui Borges’s side have won all five of their continental fixtures at the Estádio José Alvalade this term, conceding just three goals in the process.
Having carried a three-goal deficit into their second leg meeting with Bodø/Glimt following an abject performance in the Arctic Circle, Sporting smashed five past the Norwegians on home soil to advance to the last eight.
Amazon Prime will be providing exclusive live coverage of Tuesday night’s first leg in Lisbon, with kick-off scheduled for 20:00 (BST).
Sporting CP v Arsenal – Key information
Date: Tuesday, 7th April
Kick-off time: 20:00 (BST)
Venue: Estádio José Alvalade, Lisbon
Referee: TBC
VAR: TBC
TV Channels/Live stream: Amazon Prime
Odds: Sporting CP: 15/4, Draw: 29/10, Arsenal: 8/11
Odds provided by bet365
Sporting CP team news
Rui Borges is still unable to call upon the services of experienced wing-back Nuno Santos, who will be out for at least another week thanks to a mild thigh strain.
It remains unclear whether Geovany Quenda will be available, as the teenage sensation only completed the final stages of his rehabilitation from a broken metatarsal during the international break. Ahead of his lucrative move to Stamford Bridge in the summer, Quenda utilised Chelsea’s world-class medical facilities at their Cobham training base to aid his recovery.
Having been an unused substitute against Arsenal on three occasions during his eighteen-month spell with West Ham, it looks as if Luis Guilherme will once again miss out on facing the Gunners. The Brazilian winger is currently nursing an ankle sprain.
Fotis Ioannidis is out after damaging his medial collateral ligament (MCL) in February, but rarely features in Sporting’s starting XI anyway.
Sporting CP predicted line-up v Arsenal (4-2-3-1)
Coach: Rui Borges
Rui Silva (GK); Iván Fresneda, Eduardo Quaresma, Gonçalo Inácio, Maximiliano Araújo; Morten Hjulmand, Hidemasa Morita; Geny Catamo, Francisco Trincão, Pedro Gonçalves; Luis Suárez
Arsenal team news
After no less than ten first-team players pulled out of international duty at the end of March, Mikel Arteta is staring down the barrel of an injury crisis.
Noni Madueke was pictured leaving Wembley in a knee brace following England’s 1-1 draw with Uruguay, but was fit enough to play the final half an hour of Saturday night’s cup defeat on the south coast.
William Saliba also made a substitute appearance at St. Mary’s, but had complained of a recurring pain in his left ankle during the international break. However, the Frenchman was brought on to replace the crocked Gabriel Magalhães, who instructed physios to attend to his knee.
A couple of others are also struggling with knee injuries. Martín Zubimendi was withdrawn just thirteen minutes after being introduced into Spain’s clash with Serbia due to experiencing discomfort around the middle of his leg, while skipper Martin Ødegaard has already missed 22 matches this season thanks to persistent knee problems.
Tuesday night will come too quickly for Eberechi Eze, who sustained a calf issue not long after netting the opener against Bayer Leverkusen in Arsenal’s latest Champions League outing. Bukayo Saka and Declan Rice should be available after leaving Thomas Tuchel’s England camp early, but Jurrien Timber and Leandro Trossard may remain absent.
The severity of Piero Hincapié’s injury is yet to be fully understood, but early indications suggest the Ecuadorian could be out for some time. Mikel Merino is likely to be sidelined for the rest of the season, after undergoing surgery on his foot in February.
Arsenal predicted line-up v Sporting CP (4-2-3-1)
Coach: Mikel Arteta
David Raya (GK); Ben White, William Saliba, Cristhian Mosquera, Riccardo Calafiori; Declan Rice, Martin Ødegaard; Bukayo Saka, Kai Havertz, Noni Madueke; Viktor Gyökeres
Where to watch on TV or live stream?
Although TNT Sports is currently the main broadcaster of UEFA competitions in the United Kingdom, Amazon Prime has first choice on Tuesday night Champions League fixtures. Consequently, the streaming giant has routinely screened contests involving English clubs at the beginning of each matchweek.
Arsenal fans have already had the opportunity to witness their team in European action twice this season on Amazon Prime, as the Gunners’ league phase encounters with Atlético Madrid and Inter Milan were aired on the platform.
Head-to-Head record
Although they eliminated Arsenal at the last sixteen stage of the 2022/23 Europa League campaign via a penalty shootout triumph, Sporting failed to beat the North Londoners in regulation time in any of their seven previous meetings.
However, the hosts will take some comfort from their opponent’s recent record on native soil. Arsenal have never won in Portugal during the knockout rounds of a major European competition, last coming unstuck by a late winner from Brazilian winger Galeno at Porto’s Estádio do Dragão.
Sporting CP v Arsenal – Match Result odds
The odds, correct at the time of publication, are subject to change. All odds provided by bet365.