Arsenal could match unwanted Champions League record against Sporting – predicted line-ups and talkSPORT commentary
Today at 05:59 AM
Arsenal will look to return to winning ways in the Champions League tonight when they take on Sporting Lisbon.
The Gunners were beaten 1-0 by Inter Milan in their last European game, seeing them drop down to 12th in the League Phase table.
Mikel Arteta will want to see a positive response, and they come into this game off the back of a 3-0 Premier League win at the weekend.
They take on the unbeaten Sporting, who are embarking on the rest of their campaign without Ruben Amorim who joined Manchester United recently.
Sporting Lisbon vs Arsenal: Unwanted history
Arsenal are on the brink of a record they won’t want to achieve…
The Gunners are winless in their five away games in the Champions League, losing three and drawing two.
In the last four, they have also failed to score.
Only one English team have ever gone five games without finding the net and that was Man United in the 2004/05 season.
So, it means they need to find their shooting boots against Sporting to prevent equalling that piece of history.
In their opening four Champions League fixtures, Arteta’s side have only managed to score three goals in total.
However, they have only conceded one too, with entertaining games seemingly hard to come by in Europe this season.
All hopes will be pinned on a goal-fest on Tuesday and Arsenal will need to find at least one to not match United’s feat.
- This will be the seventh meeting between Sporting CP and Arsenal in European competition, while the Portuguese side are still looking for their first victory over the Gunners (D4 L2). Each of the last three meetings between the two have ended level, however.
- If Sporting CP fail to win this match, Arsenal will be the opponent they've faced the most times in European competition without ever winning (7). They're winless in six against them so far, which is their joint-most against an opponent, along with Bayer Leverkusen and Partizan Belgrade.
Sporting Lisbon vs Arsenal: Predicted line-ups
Sporting Lisbon have Nuno Santos and Pedro Goncalves sidelined, meaning new manager Joao Pereira has almost a full squad available.
At the back, Zeno Debast will likely be joined by Ousmane Diomande and Goncalo Inacio unless Matheus Reis keeps his place.
17-year-old Geovany Quenda is having a breakout year and should be at right wing-back while Maximiliano Araujo is on the left.
Morten Hjumland and Hidemasa Morita will sit while Francisco Trincao starts alongside Geny Catamo in behind the striker.
Catamo will likely get the nod with Goncales nursing a knock that he picked up against Braga a couple of weeks ago.
And of course, up front will be Viktor Gyokeres who is undoubtedly one of the best goalscorers in the world at the moment.
As for Arsenal, Ben White has been ruled out until the new year but Kieran Tierney is back and available to feature.
Arteta may make changes to his back line, with Tierney, Jakub Kiwior and Oleksandr Zinchenko potentially coming in.
Riccardo Calafiori could be rested while Mikel Merino could also get a rest after playing 90 minutes at the weekend.
Captain Martin Odegaard will be in midfield along with Declan Rice who is back fit and Thomas Partey is likely to join them.
In the front three, Bukayo Saka will certainly start along and Kai Havertz should lead the line after a full rest last time out.
Gabriel Martinelli and Leandro Trossard will compete for a spot.
- Viktor Gyökeres has been directly involved in six goals in four UEFA Champions League appearances for Sporting CP this season (5 goals, 1 assist), already the joint-most by a player in a single campaign for the club in the competition (also 6 by Nani in 2014-15).
- Among midfielders to have contested 10+ duels in the UEFA Champions League, the two players with the highest duel success rate are Arsenal pair Declan Rice (79% – 11/14) and Mikel Merino (75% – 12/16). Meanwhile, the player with the best aerial duel success rate in the competition this term is Gabriel Magalhães (86% – 12/14, min. 10 aerial duels).
Sporting Lisbon vs Arsenal: What has been said?
Arteta has been speaking about the importance of getting that away win in the Champions League to stop their rut.
“It's certainly something we have to improve,” he admitted.
“I think we have made the right steps and, looking back with the way we played against Inter, which is a team that has been so dominant in their league, reached the final of the Champions League which they should have won.
“To play and dominate that game. But the reality is that you have to make it happen and we didn't.
“Making those steps is what we have to do next.
“Be ruthless, be efficient in the opposition box and do what we have to do to take the three points away from here.”
- Arsenal have only won one of their 11 away matches against Portuguese sides in major European competition (D6 L4), while they were beaten on their most recent trip last season (0-1 v FC Porto in February). The Gunners' only such victory did come away to Sporting CP, however (1-0 in October 2018).
- Sporting CP are unbeaten in their four UEFA Champions League games this season (W3 D1), although all were under manager Rúben Amorim who has since left. This will be João Pereira's first match as a manager in the competition, while the last Sporting CP boss to win his first such game was Paulo Bento back in September 2006 (1-0 v Internazionale) – the previous three all failed to win (D1 L2).
Sporting Lisbon vs Arsenal: talkSPORT coverage
This Champions League clash will take place on Tuesday, November 26.
Kick-off at Estadio Jose Alvalade is scheduled for 8pm.
talkSPORT will have live coverage of the game presented by Adrian Durham.
Commentary will come from Ian Danter and former England striker Darren Bent.
To tune in to talkSPORT or talkSPORT 2 through the website, click HERE for the live stream.
You can also listen via the talkSPORT app, on DAB digital radio, through your smart speaker and on 1089 or 1053 AM.
The game will also be broadcast live on TNT Sports 1.
