ARSENAL return to Europa League action on Thursday in Portugal against an in-form Sporting Lisbon.
Rarely if ever has a goal been celebrated more at the Emirates than Reiss Nelson's winner with almost the last kick of the ball on Saturday to crown a magnificent comeback from being 2-0 down at home to Bournemouth to win 3-2.
It's already been labelled the goal that will win the Gunners the title, but Manchester City will have plenty to say about that and there's a long way to go in the Premier League.
The Europa League won't be as high on their list of priorities especially with a tough London derby with Fulham upcoming on Sunday, but it's a winnable competition for them.
However, they face a tough ask on Thursday with Sporting on a fine run of form. Despite only drawing the first leg of the last round with Midtjylland, they went to Denmark and romped to a 4-0 win in the second leg.
They've also hammered Europa League winners Eintracht Frankfurt in Germany and beat Spurs at home in the Champions League, while winning six of their last seven games in the Portuguese league, although they are back in fourth place and a massive 15 points off runaway leaders Benfica.
How the bookies view it
Arsenal are favourites here with some firms going evens. You can get 11/10 with William Hill.
Sporting Lisbon can be backed at 13/5 with bet365. The draw is with Paddy Power.
Recent head to heads
They last played in this competition five years ago and Arsenal won 1-0 in Portugal and followed that up with a goalless draw in London.
Players to watch
Pedro Goncalves netted a double when Sporting romped to that four-goal win in Denmark. He is on 14 goals for the season in 29 games and is a big price at 19/5 to score anytime with UniBet.
Arsenal may well make several changes and Eddie Nketiah is a major doubt, along with Leandro Trossard. Bukayo Saka has rediscovered his shooting boots after a mini-drought and is 3/1 with UniBet to net.
Anything else catch the eye?
Sporting Lisbon have scored in their last ten games and can contribute to a decent spectacle here. Although Arsenal were doing cartwheels over that last gasp winner, they should probably be more concerned they allowed relegation-haunted Bournemouth to score twice at the Emirates.
Both teams to score is a generous 16/19 with SBK and that looks banker material.
It took Bournemouth nine seconds to score on Saturday and while a repeat is somewhat unlikely, bet365's 5/6 on the hosts scoring before the 64th minute looks to have a great chance to almost double your money, especially with Sporting having improved after a dismal start to the season which cost them.
This UEFA Europa League match between Sporting Lisbon and Arsenal will be played on Mar 9, 2023 and kick off at 17:45. 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.
