Arsenal vs Sporting – Betting Preview
Arsenal and Sporting Lisbon will meet again at the Emirates on Thursday for the pivotal match after a wild and unpredictable 2-2 draw in the first leg of their Europa League last-16 contest.
Both teams are coming off 3-0 victories in their respective domestic leagues; the hosts defeated Fulham, while Ruben Amorim’s team destroyed Boavista.
Arsenal Preview
The hallmarks of last week’s first leg at the Stadium Jose Alvalade were sloppy goals and set-piece defence that left a lot to be desired. William Saliba nodded Arsenal in ahead before Goncalo Inacio matched him for Sporting with a header of his own from a corner.
Ten minutes into the second half, Paulinho’s tap-in would swing the score in the hosts’ favour. Nevertheless, when Arsenal needed a tremendous bit of luck, Hidemasa Morita came through, as Granit Xhaka’s cross cannoned off the Japanese midfielder and into the goal to end an action-packed draw.
Although winning the Europa League should not define Arsenal’s season as they continue to make waves in the Premier League, where they are still five points clear at the top after the weekend’s 3-0 victory over Fulham, it is unquestionably a better result for the Gunners than Sporting had been going into their match at the Emirates.
Sporting Preview
Sporting defeated Boavista in the Primeira Liga on Sunday by a score of 2-0 thanks to goals from Nuno Santos and Salvador Agra. Paulinho, who came off the bench, added a third goal in stoppage time, but Amorim’s fourth-place team could only manage to stay 15 points behind Benfica in the standings.
Sporting travels to North London looking for their first Europa League quarterfinal appearance since the 2017–18 season, when they were eliminated by eventual champions Atletico Madrid. The Lions have gone seven games without a loss in all competitions, and it has been 10 games since they last failed to score.
Amorim’s team is unfazed by leaving familiar ground behind either; they can boast five straight away victories in local and continental competitions going into the second leg, although Sporting hasn’t been able to win on English soil since 2005.
1×2 Betting Odds
Let’s begin analysing the 1×2 market
The Spaniard’s team are now giving up too many easy goals, as Arteta hinted after the first leg, and a reorganised defence may not have much luck against a lethal Sporting frontline.
Nevertheless, with two vital foundations in Morita and Coates missing out, Sporting’s attacking aspirations may prove futile against an Arsenal side who are the experts at overcoming adversity!
The Gunners are the favourites to win this at the Emirates @ 1.40.
Sporting are massive underdogs in the home of the Gunners @ 9.50.
The market odds of yet another stalemate to be played out, stands @ 5.65.
Total goals over/under
Let’s check the over/under scenario
The odds that the total number of goals scored will be over 2.5, stands @ 1.74.
While the odds that the total number of goals will be under 2.5, stands @ 2.29.
This season alone, Arsenal is tied for second in the Premier League with 17 matches that had more than two goals in the back of the net. Sporting is the best ‘over’ team in Portugal with the same number of games that went over the mark in question.
So both these teams can score goals, as was evident from the first encounter. Expect a similar scoring pattern to follow suit.
