Sporting Lisbon and Arsenal come into this game knowing that the winner of this game would have the upper hand in the race to top their group in this competition. The other two group member were never going to make it beyond the group stages with these two teams as their opponents.
Sporting started their Europa League campaign with a 2-0 home win over Qarabag. They followed that up with a 2-1 win over Vorskla to keep them level on points with the Gunners. While they have a good set of results in Europe, they have been struggling in their domestic league.
They are currently 5th on the Portuguese league table having collected 7 points less from their opening 8 games this season. They have, however, had a fine run of results at home as they have won all 5 competitive games at home, so they would be prepared to give the Gunners a run for their money here.
Arsenal have been unplayable for much of this season as they continue to flourish under the tutelage of Unai Emery. The Gunners beat Leicester City 3-1 on Monday to make it ten wins on the bounce in all competitions. They have also scored an impressive 30 goals in that period of time and their fans have begun dreaming about winning a trophy this season.
The Gunners are, however, vulnerable at the back. They have kept just 3 clean sheets from their 12 competitive games this season, and they are facing a Sporting Lisbon team that hasn’t failed to score at home in the Europa League since 2015.
