The round of 16 in the Europa League gets underway this week, as the first legs will take place across Europe. Arsenal will be one of the front-runners to win the competition this season, but they will face a tricky test on the road in Thursday’s opening leg against Sporting Lisbon.
Before Betting On Sporting Lisbon vs Arsenal
It will be fascinating to see how Mikel Arteta approaches this Europa League tie over the next couple of weeks, as Arsenal remain five points clear at the top of the Premier League standings. The coach could sacrifice his team’s chances of winning this competition in preference to landing success in the English top-flight.
The Gunners boast an impressive record against Portuguese opposition, as they have got six without defeat. That includes an elimination of Benfica in the Europa League knockout stages in the 2020-21 season. This is also the five meeting between these two sides, with Arsenal yet to lose or concede a goal in the previous four encounters.
However, Sporting’s record against English opposition also deserves respect, as they have knocked out teams from the Premier League across six ties in the Europa League. All six wins have come against different opponents, and they will present a very stern test for Arsenal this week, especially in the first leg where they will have home advantage.
Sporting has already shown their prowess against English opposition this season, as they landed a 2-0 home win over Tottenham Hotspur in September. Meanwhile, the game between the sides in London also saw the points shared with a 1-1 draw. Sporting were extremely strong in the previous round, as they eased through against Danish side Midtylland with a 5-1 aggregate scoreline.
Sporting Lisbon vs Arsenal Offshore Odds
| Offshore Sportsbook | Sporting | Draw | Arsenal |
|---|---|---|---|
| BetOnline | 3.47 | 3.50 | 2.10 |
| Bovada | 3.35 | 3.45 | 2.10 |
| BetUS | 3.35 | 3.45 | 2.15 |
| Sportsbetting.ag | 3.47 | 3.50 | 2.10 |
| MyBookie | 3.36 | 3.38 | 2.19 |
Sporting’s record against English opposition has been strong in this competition, and with Arteta likely to make changes to his team for this first leg, we could see the Portuguese side taking an advantage into the second leg at the Emirates.
