The Champions League quarterfinals get underway on Tuesday night, with Premier League leaders Arsenal facing off against Sporting CP in Lisbon.
The Gunners have endured another wobble down the stretch, with back-to-back defeats in domestic cup competitions dashing their quadruple and then treble dreams. After succumbing to a vintage Manchester City spell in the Carabao Cup final, a rotated Arsenal team were beaten 2–1 by Championship high-flyers Southampton in the FA Cup quarterfinals on Saturday.
There’s almost an expectation that Mikel Arteta’s side will crumble down the stretch, but their lead at the Premier League’s summit is big and they’re facing up against arguably the ’weakest’ side left in the Champions League with a spot in the last four at stake.
While Arsenal eventually sauntered beyond Bayer Leverkusen in the round of 16, Sporting overcame a 3–0 first leg deficit against Bodø/Glimt to reach this stage of the competition for the very first time since its 1992 rebrand. Rui Borges’ side impressed in the league phase, finishing inside the top eight, and thumped the neutral’s favorite 5–0 on home soil to setup this quarterfinal tie.
Sporting CP vs. Arsenal Score Prediction
Gunners Escape Lisbon With Result
Gabriel
Arsenal have lost back-to-back games entering Tuesday’s first leg. | David Ramos/UEFA/Getty Images
Many were expecting Arsenal to be travelling to the Arctic Circle this week, but the most outrageous of Champions League comebacks mean Lisbon is the Gunners’ alternative—and perhaps more welcoming—destination.
There was plenty of hype surrounding the league phase fixture last season, even if Sporting, who’d started the league phase superbly, had just lost Rúben Amorim to Manchester United. His successor, João Pereira, lasted just six weeks, and he oversaw a 5–1 drubbing at the hands of the Gunners.
Arsenal were able to neutralize the fearsome Viktor Gyökeres and dominate from set pieces to break the game open, asserting total dominance at the ground they’ll be returning to on Tuesday.
Head-to-Head Record: Sporting have never beaten Arsenal inside 90 minutes, with their only victory in this fixture coming on penalties in the 2022–23 Europa League. Four of the seven meetings have ended all-square.
Sporting’s Record at Home: The hosts are excellent at the Alvalade. They’ve won all five Champions League home games this season, including the 5–0 beatdown of Bodø after extra time, and haven’t lost on home soil in any competition since Porto won 2–1 in Lisbon last August.
Returning Gunners: Mikel Arteta rested plenty of key players at the weekend, with several expected to be included in his starting lineup on Tuesday. Thus, we could be treated to a fresh Arsenal performance in Lisbon, with the improvement in personnel from Saturday’s FA Cup defeat ensuring they’re better prepared to deal with Sporting’s threat, especially in wide areas.
Prediction: Sporting CP 1–1 Arsenal
Sporting CP Predicted Lineup vs. Arsenal
Sporting CP lineup
Sporting are without their captain. | FotMob
The hosts will be without their captain, Morten Hjulmand, on Tuesday night. The Dane picked up his fifth booking of the Champions League campaign against Bodø/Glimt last time out and serves a one-game suspension.
Borges opted against including Hjulmand in his midfield against Santa Clara on Friday night, with Daniel Bragança instead playing alongside Hidemasa Morita.
Sporting are without Nuno Santos due to a hamstring injury, while former West Ham United winger Luis Guilherme is a doubt with a muscle strain. Chelsea bound Geovany Quenda has returned to training after breaking his foot—he was sidelined for four months—but is unlikely to play a part on Tuesday night.
Sporting CP predicted lineup vs. Arsenal (4-2-3-1): Silva; Fresneda, Diomande, Inácio, Araújo; Morita, Bragança; Catamo, Trincão, Pote; Suárez.
Arsenal Predicted Lineup vs. Sporting CP
Arsenal lineup
Arsenal have several injury concerns. | FotMob
Arsenal returned from the international break with a litany of fresh injury concerns, with an array of stars either rested or only featuring off the bench at St. Mary’s.
The visitors should have Bukayo Saka and Declan Rice back fit in time for the first leg, while David Raya, Martín Zubimendi, William Saliba and Gyökeres are all shoo-ins to come back into the starting lineup.
There’s hope that Jurriën Timber will recover from his knock in time for the trip to Lisbon, but the knee injury Gabriel sustained on Saturday could see Cristhian Mosquera partner Saliba at center back. Riccardo Calafiori will deputise for Piero Hincapié at left back if the Ecuadorian doesn’t shake off his hamstring injury.
Eberechi Eze could miss all of April with a calf issue, but Martin Ødegaard is back fit after another spell out before the break.
Arsenal predicted lineup vs. Sporting CP (4-3-3): Raya; Timber, Mosquera, Saliba, Calafiori; Zubimendi, Rice, Ødegaard; Saka, Gyökeres, Martinelli.
What Time Does Sporting CP vs. Arsenal Kick Off?
Location: Lisbon, Portugal
Stadium: Estádio José de Alvalade
Date: Tuesday, April 7
Kick-off Time: 8 p.m. BST / 3 p.m. ET / 12 p.m. PT
Referee: Daniel Siebert (GER)
VAR: Bastian Dankert (GER)
How to Watch Sporting CP vs. Arsenal on TV, Live Stream
Country TV Channel/Live Stream
United States Paramount+, ViX
United Kingdom Amazon Prime Video
Canada DAZN Canada, fuboTV Canada
Mexico Max Mexico
MORE: Full list of Champions League broadcasters around the world
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