Overview
Mikel Arteta hopes Arsenal can make a mark when they visit Sporting CP in the first leg of the UEFA Champions League quarter-finals.
Just a few weeks ago, the Premier League leaders were still aiming for a quadruple, but successively lost to Manchester City in the Carabao Cup final and were eliminated from the FA Cup after a 1-2 defeat to Southampton.
Arsenal won tickets to the quarterfinals of the Champions League after overcoming Bayer Leverkusen with a total score of 3-1. Goals from Eberechi Eze and Declan Rice in the second leg helped them win 2-0 and advance.
According to Opta's prediction, Arsenal is the top candidate for the Champions League title this season with 27.7% chance of winning and 77.7% chance of reaching the semi-finals.
However, Sporting entered this match with great confidence after an impressive comeback against Bodo/Glimt. Losing 0-3 in the first leg, the Portuguese team won 5-0 in extra time in the second leg to advance.
Rui Borges's team became the fifth team in Champions League history to reverse the situation after losing 3 goals in the first leg, and also reached the quarter-finals of the tournament for the first time.
Jose Alvalade's home ground is a great support when Sporting has won all 5 home matches in the Champions League this season - the best streak of a Portuguese representative since Porto in 1999.
In attack, Viktor Gyokeres is a noteworthy name. He scored 6 goals for Sporting in the Champions League last season and may become the first player to score both for and against the Portuguese team in the tournament.
On the other side, goalkeeper David Raya is showing impressive form. With a goal difference of +7.6 compared to xG facing, he is one of the best goalkeepers in Europe this season.
Sporting also possesses a formidable spearhead, Luis Suarez, who has scored 5 goals in the Champions League this season and can equal the club's scoring record.
In addition, Goncalo Inacio impressed with 41 cross-line passes in the previous round - the highest figure in the knockout round of the 2025-2026 season.
However, Arsenal is still one of the best defensive teams in the league when conceding an average of only 0.5 goals per game, with the lowest head-to-head rating and the fewest shots on target received.
However, history does not completely support them as they have been eliminated in 5 out of 8 Champions League quarter-finals. However, the victory over Real Madrid last season brought confidence for their ambition to go deep.
In terms of force, Arteta is facing many worries as Gabriel Magalhaes, Declan Rice, Jurrien Timber, Bukayo Saka and Leandro Trossard have not reached their best fitness, while Eberechi Eze and Mikel Merino have to take long-term leave.
Head-to-head record
Arsenal once made a strong impression when defeating Sporting with a score of 5-1 right in Lisbon in the most recent meeting between the two teams in the Champions League group stage in the 2024-2025 season, with 6 different players scoring.
However, the London team has never won away from home against Portuguese opponents in the knockout rounds of European cups, with a record of 4 draws and 2 losses. Most recently, they lost 0-1 to Porto in the round of 16 of the 2023-2024 Champions League season.
However, Sporting also does not have a good head-to-head record against Arsenal as they have never won after 7 encounters (4 draws, 3 losses).
However, the Portuguese representative once eliminated Arsenal from the UEFA Europa League in the 2022-2023 season after a penalty shootout, when the two teams drew 3-3 after two legs in the round of 16.
Score prediction: Sporting 1-1 Arsenal
The match between Sporting and Arsenal takes place at 2:00 AM on April 8 (Vietnam time).
