Sporting Lisbon and Arsenal square off in an intriguing-looking Champions League tie at the Estadio Jose Alvalade on Tuesday night.
The Portuguese giants have made an impressive start to their continental campaign, collecting 10 points from the first 12 on offer.
The most notable of Sporting’s three victories to date came on matchday four when they smashed Manchester City 4-1 on home turf.
That was the perfect parting gift from outgoing boss Ruben Amorim, who has since taken the reins at Manchester United.
As for Arsenal, they suffered their first Champions League defeat of the season earlier this month when losing 1-0 away at Inter Milan.
That San Siro setback formed part of a three-game losing run, however Mikel Arteta’s men snapped that sequence with a 3-0 win over Nottingham Forest on Saturday, on an afternoon where both of my bets landed in North London.
How the bookies view it: Gunners to tame the Lions
Despite making light work of Man City in their previous Champions League home game, Sporting Lisbon head into this clash as 2/1 outsiders on Betano.
A point apiece in the Portuguese capital has been priced up at 5/2 (Betano), while Arsenal are 6/5 favourites to bank all three points.
Head to head: Another stalemate in store?
The two teams last crossed paths in the Europa League two seasons ago, with both legs ending all square before Sporting prevailed in the subsequent penalty shootout. It’s also worth noting that the pair also played out a 0-0 draw at the Emirates back in 2018.
Players to watch: Gyokeres on the goal hunt
Viktor Gyokeres scored a hat-trick when Sporting Lisbon swept Man City aside at this venue earlier this month. The Swedish striker has been scoring goals for fun for both club and country this season, making him an attractive option for a goal or an assist on Tuesday night at even-money (1/1) on PaddyPower.
Bukayo Saka kept up his impressive start to the season by providing a goal and an assist during the Gunners' weekend win over Nottingham Forest. The Arsenal ace is 13/10 (Betfair) to register another goal involvement this midweek.
Predicted line-ups
Sporting Lisbon have a relatively clean bill of health at the moment, with long-term absentees Nuno Santos and Pedro Goncalves the only two players set to miss out.
Arsenal will be unable to call upon the services of defensive trio Ben White, Kieran Tierney and Takehiro Tomiyasu for this week’s trip to Lisbon.
Sporting Lisbon: Israel; Reis, Inacio, Diomande; Quenda, Morita, Hjulmand, Araujo; Trincao, Gyokeres, Edwards
Arsenal: Raya; Timber, Saliba, Gabriel, Calafiori; Odegaard, Partey, Rice; Saka, Havertz, Martinelli
Anything else catch the eye?
Pairing up Sporting Lisbon with a + 2 start on the handicap alongside Ousmane Diomande to commit a minimum of one foul will bring about a 9/10 Bet Builder on PaddyPower.
Not only have the Lions avoided defeat in all four of their Champions League outings this season so far, but they have also triumphed in each of their opening 11 Portuguese Primeira Liga games of the campaign.
As such, I’m happy to back the hosts with a +2 head start here, but to bolster the odds, I’ll also go with the aforementioned Diomande to commit at least one foul.
The Sporting defender fell foul of the referee twice against Man City, and there is plenty of scope for a repeat here given that he will likely cross paths with Arsenal foul-magnet Saka.
This UEFA Champions League match between Sporting Lisbon and Arsenal will be played on Nov 26, 2024 and kick off at 20:00. Check below for our tipsters best Sporting Lisbon vs Arsenal prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
