Sporting Lisbon vs Arsenal Predictions

• Sporting have lost only two of their last 12 matches
• Arsenal have kept only two clean sheets in nine games
• The Gunners have failed to win two of their last four road outings.

Sporting can cause Arsenal problems

Winning the Premier League will be Arsenal’s main aim this season but they are also one of the strongest teams in the Europa League and would be expected to overcome Sporting in their last-16 tie.

However, there have been a few more vulnerabilities in Arsenal’s game recently and they needed a 97th-minute winner from Reiss Nelson to see off Bournemouth 3-2 last time.

That means they have now kept only two clean sheets in nine outings.

The Gunners have lost two of their last four away games at Manchester City and Everton and they were also beaten 2-0 at PSV in the group stages.

That means Mikel Arteta’s men shouldn’t be expecting an easy ride at Sporting, who took four points from Tottenham in the Champions League group stages.

Likely Gunners changes give Sporting a chance

Sporting thrashed Midtjylland 5-1 on aggregate to set up this tie and they have suffered just two defeats in their last 12 games, both of which came against Porto.

A fully wound-up Arsenal would take some stopping but Arteta is likely to make some tactical tweaks given they head to Fulham in the Premier League in just three days time.

The Gunners were only one-goal winners on trips to Zurich and Bodo/Glimt in this competition earlier in the season and this visit to Portugal is considerably tougher, so a draw could set them up nicely for the return leg at the Emirates.

With that in mind, perhaps backing a draw may be where the value lies. It was 1-1 in Sporting’s home leg with Midtjylland and a repeat result, which was also the score when they entertained Tottenham in October, makes plenty of appeal.

Build better bets with our free betting tips, predictions and accumulators, every day.