Arsenal - Sporting: The fulcrum of Emirates
At Emirates, Arsenal won 14, drew two and lost only two of the last 18 matches in all competitions. Mikel Arteta's teachers and students defeated rivals like Man Utd, Liverpool or Tottenham and only lost to Man City. However, the "Gunners" have not won the last two home matches in the knockout round of the Europa League and need to break this stage if they want to continue.
Arsenal ran the momentum for the match with a bold 3-0 victory at Fulham in the Premier League last weekend. That result helps them maintain a five-point gap with second-place Man City, thereby raising hopes of winning a double title this season. Since the loss to Man City on February 16, Arteta's teachers and students have been unbeaten in the last six matches, winning five of them.
A 2-2 draw in the first leg is considered somewhat fortunate for Arsenal. Negligence in fixed situations caused the "Gunners" to concede two goals and needed Hidemasa Morita's own goal to leave with a draw. Due to the unpredictable situation of the match, Arteta may have to continue to "strive" the pillars like Gabriel Martinelli, Bukayo Saka, Granit Xhaka or Oleksandr Zinchenko.
"We haven't lived in the atmosphere of a big European Cup game in three years due to Covid-19. Tomorrow's match is probably the first in a long time. Hopefully, Arsenal will create a frenetic atmosphere. Heat and enjoy it. We will look for a win, like in Lisbon. But Arsenal need to do better than the first leg if they want to overcome this strong opponent, "Arteta said.
Sporting is also in good form before the trip to England. They are undefeated seven games in a row, winning five. The Portuguese club is also on a five-way win streak in all competitions. However, the last time Sporting won at an English club was in 2005. Since beating Middlesbrough in the 2004-2005 UEFA Cup, they have played here nine times and have not won.
In the play-off round, Sporting also failed to win the first leg at home, but then beat Midtjylland 4-0 to advance. Ruben Amorim hopes his students can keep that spirit. If they create a surprise, Sporting will reach the quarter-finals of the Europa League for the first time since the 2017-2018 season, when they lost to Atletico - the team then won.
"I expect a tough game when the opponent will definitely play faster than they did in the first leg at Alvalade. Arsenal have understood us better. They will be more formidable thanks to the support of the home fans. But Sporting will also play better. This is a battle for survival. Both teams know there will be no chance to do it again if they make a mistake, "said Amorim.
Arsenal will welcome the return of Gabriel Jesus, who played in the last 13 minutes of their win over Fulham. The Brazilian striker has been absent since suffering an injury at the 2022 World Cup. Jesus is likely to start, besides Leandro Trossard, the player was also given the weekend off. The "Gunners" are still missing Eddie Nketiah and Mohamed Elneny.
Meanwhile, Sporting may be in trouble because of the suspensions of Morita and Sebastian Coates, players who have received all three yellow cards in the European arena. The visitors welcome back Manuel Ugarte, but Hector Bellerin will not be able to meet his old team because of a knee injury.
