Sporting Lisbon vs Arsenal Predictions

• Arsenal are without a win in their last three games away from the Emirates
• Sporting’s last five games have featured at least three goals
• The Gunners’ last nine away matches have produced a total of 28 goals

Last chance saloon for Gunners’ cup hopes

Just like Liverpool last season, Arsenal’s hopes of landing an unprecedented quadruple have evaporated in the blink of an eye. The Gunners are sitting pretty at the top of the Premier League but that is now their only chance of domestic silverware following an EFL Cup final defeat to Manchester City and a shock FA Cup loss to Southampton. 

The issues of Arsenal’s past were on full display in both of those games, as the bottling tendencies they have displayed on many occasions under Mikel Arteta came to the fore at Wembley and St Mary’s. 

Arteta’s side were dominated by City in that 2-0 defeat and second-tier Southampton overcame 13/2 odds to prevail 2-1 in the FA Cup quarter-finals. Given the shambolic performances Arsenal gave in those huge games, they are hard to get behind in Tuesday’s Champions League quarter-final first leg in Lisbon, especially at odds-on. 

Plucky Portuguese hosts will be no pushover

The Gunners’ confidence will be shot to bits and even though Arteta can bring back some of the big names he rested at St Mary’s, they are still the same big names who failed to even lay a glove on City. 

Sporting are not quite as good as Pep Guardiola’s Citizens, but they are not to be underestimated given they have won their last nine home matches when including extra-time goals. 

The Lisbon outfit showed great resilience when battling back from a 3-0 first-leg deficit to win 5-3 on aggregate in their Champions League last-16 clash with giant-killing Bodo/Glimt and they have already enjoyed some big scalps on home soil this term, beating PSG and Marseille during the league phase. 

Goals likely to flow in lively Lisbon clash

Whether they can add to Arsenal’s growing misery is up for debate but at the very least they should play their part in a thriller. 

The Gunners have been criticised for being too defensive during Arteta’s reign but they have to take the handbrake off now, with their conservative tactics doing them no favours in recent weeks. 

That should lead to an entertaining game in Lisbon, something which Sporting are no strangers to. 

Sporting’s last five matches have featured over 2.5 goals and with that selection landing in four of Arsenal’s last six away games, it looks the bet for Tuesday’s first leg.