Sporting vs Arsenal prediction
Arsenal travel to Lisbon on Tuesday hoping to do what Manchester City failed to do and beat Sporting CP in the Champions League (8pm, TNT Sports and Discovery+ app).
The Portuguese side hammered City 4-1 in the last match round before manager Ruben Amorim left the club to take charge of Manchester United but if Arsenal think his departure might make things easier they might be mistaken.
Sporting made it nine consecutive wins on Friday when they played their first match without Amorim, beating Amarante 6-0 in the Portuguese Cup but Arsenal will provide stiffer competition than the Portuguese third tier outfit.
Sporting currently sit second in the Champions League table, behind Liverpool who are the only side with a 100 per cent record, with 10 points from their opening four matches.
Their 1-1 draw at PSV Eindhoven is the only points they’ve dropped in 15 games so far this season, with 11 wins from 11 games in the Primeira Liga.
Arsenal on the other hand have had a mixed start to the season sitting in 12th place and five points behind the Reds in the Champions League table and nine points and three places below them in the Premier League table.
They have seven points from their four European games; wins against Paris Saint-Germain and Shakhtar followed a goalless draw with Atalanta, and they were beaten 1-0 by Inter Milan last time out.
Given the record of both sides to date in the competition, we should be in for an interesting encounter in Lisbon.
Sporting vs Arsenal betting tips: Too close to call in Lisbon?
Arsenal go into Tuesday’s game with one win from their last four matches, that coming on Saturday when they beat Nottingham Forest 3-0 at the Emirates Stadium.
It was a morale-boosting win after the international break and they now head into a crucial Champions League clash aiming to preserve an unbeaten historical record against Sporting.
The two sides have met six times with Arsenal winning two and the other four meetings, including the most recent two ending all square.
They were drawn against each other in the Round of 16 of the 2022/23 Europa League and after securing a 2-2 draw in Lisbon the second leg finished 1-1 and Sporting went through on penalties after Gabriel Martinelli missed his spot kick.
Despite beating City last time out, the Lions don’t have the best of records when it comes to beating English opposition drawing four and winning one of their previous four games.
Betting sites have odds of 5/2 for the match to end all square, while the hosts are slight underdogs at 43/20 despite their win over City last time out. Odds 13/10 for the Gunners to snatch the three points on the road might be worth avoiding.
Arsenal don’t travel well in the competition and haven’t won in their last five Champions League away games, drawing two and losing three, while they’ve also failed to score in four of those matches.
Sporting having been in breathtaking form in front of goal, scoring over 60 goals in all competitions, including four against City. Arsenal will have to their best to fend off a potent attack, but their usual stout defence has been exposed at times.
It will place more pressure on them to fire in the final third. Martin Odegaard’s return to fitness has been a major boost and his presence helped unlock the Nottingham Forest backline at the weekend.
With their skipper restored to the line-up, Arsenal have enough to earn a share of the spoils on the road. We like a price of 7/2 on football betting sites for both teams to find the net, but for the match to end all square.
Sporting vs Arsenal prediction: Both teams to score and draw -7/2 BetVictor
Sporting vs Arsenal betting: Gyokeres to keep on scoring
Viktor Gyokeres has taken to life in Portugal like a duck to water and he is enjoying the best scoring spell of his career, with 33 goals in 25 games for club and country this season – including 17 in his last nine.
He scored a late penalty on Friday in the Cup win just days after scoring five goals in two games for Sweden, including four in the 6-0 win over Azerbaijan,
The striker, who joined Sporting from Championship side Coventry City for £17m in 2023, now has 12 goals in his last 12 international appearances.
With speculation mounting that he will be one of the first players to follow Amorim to Manchester United, he will be out to test himself against another Premier League defence after notching a hat-trick against City.
Arsenal will be on high alert against a forward that is in prime form in front of goal. Gyokeres can score in a multitude of ways and has been reliable from the penalty spot.
You can find odds on betting apps of 7/4 for Gyokeres to score anytime, but given the fact that he has scored either the first or last goal in seven of his last nine, a price of 21/10 for him repeat that feat against the Gunners is appealing to us.
Sporting vs Arsenal predictions 2: Viktor Gyokeres to score first or last - 21/10 William Hill
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