Thursday evening, at 17:55, Arsenal starts looking for his first Portuguese victory, the sixth of his European history! Unsuccessful on the Lusitan field so far, Arsenal has Unai Emery, the most successful and long-lived coach in the Europa League, who won three trophies when he coached Sevilla.
Sporting has carefully prepared the duel on Thursday evening, but Arsenal does not take too much into account the historical aspect of the meeting and could hold some of the titles in Lisbon. Obviously, the Premier League tournament is paramount and in the championship it follows a heavy duel on the Crystal Palace field. Coming after a 3-1 excitement with Leicester, Emery’s band has reached 10 consecutive wins in all competitions and has the almost secure team qualifier.
Arsenal and Sporting dominate Group E in the Europa League, with maximum points after two stages. The two may qualify in the arm, from a group that includes the modest Vorskla Poltava and Qarabag. However, Sporting has seriously dealt with Vorskla, which he defeated 2-1 away after two goals scored in overtime. Arsenal did not use too much, but he easily defeated Vorskla (4-2) and Qarabag (3-0), and the “guns” already boasted with the best offensive in the competition – 7 goals scored, the same as well as Leverkusen.
Sporting Lisbon will try to keep possession and defend the draw
If Arsenal has scored an automatic fire lately (29 goals in the last 10 games), Sporting prefers to keep the matches tight and most of its victories are scored by a goal difference. Sporting comes after a 2-1 away in the Cup against Loures amateurs, but coach Jose Peseiro rested the holders. Former Rapid technician hopes to slow down the London game and we would not wonder that this game ends with few goals and few phases of the goal. Eventually, Sporting would be pleased with the draw!
The hosts have 5 consecutive wins in their own field in all competitions, but Sporting has not won on their own against a big club since November 2014! Sporting‘s most dangerous player will be Fredy Montero, who scored in the last three games and the hosts hope the “tuners” will rest titles such as Aubameyang and Lacazette, to give the chance to resume. The Portuguese band may miss major players such as Mathieu, Dost, Viviano and Wendel, while Emery can not bet Koscielny, Sokratis and Cech. Without being a scarecrow, Arsenal might be in trouble.
PREDICTION: Arsenal to win @ 2.00
