Arsenal travel to take on Sporting CP in the first leg of their UEFA Champions League quarter-final tie on Tuesday 7 April.
Match at a glance
When: Tuesday 7 April (21:00 CET)
Where: Estádio José Alvalade, Lisbon
What: UEFA Champions League quarter-final first leg
Who: Two-time quarter-finalists against 2005/06 runners-up
How to follow: Build-up and live coverage can be found here
Where to watch the game on TV
Fans can find their local UEFA Champions League broadcast partner(s) here.
What you need to know
Both teams can make a strong case for being confident ahead of this tie, in which Arsenal striker Viktor Gyökeres will return to face the club where he scored 97 goals in 102 competitive games between 2023 and 2025 before heading to north London.
The Gunners are unbeaten in European competition against Sporting CP (W2 D3), and their 5-1 win in Lisbon on Matchday 5 of the 2024/25 Champions League offers a glimpse of their attacking verve under Mikel Arteta. However, the only two-legged tie between the teams ended wiith the Portuguese outfit advancing on penalties in the 2022/23 UEFA Europa League round of 16.
Indeed, the Lions have won nine of their ten previous UEFA competition two-legged ties against English teams, with the only defeat coming in the sole two-legged contest in the European Cup/Champions League, against Manchester City in 2021/22. That followed a pattern for Portuguese clubs at this stage, as they have lost all nine European Cup/Champions League quarter-final meetings with Premier League opposition.
Sporting CP are aiming to become the first Portuguese outfit to win a Champions League quarter-final tie since the 2003/04 Porto side, who went on to lift the trophy. The overall prize will doubtless be on Arsenal’s mind too as they seek that elusive first triumph in this competition.
Possible line-ups
To follow
Form guide
Sporting CP
Form: WWLDW (most recent game first)
Next: Sporting CP vs Santa Clara, 03/04, Portuguese First Division
Arsenal
Form: LWWDW
Next: Southampton vs Arsenal, 04/04, English FA Cup
Views from the camps
Rui Borges, Sporting CP coach: “It’s about continuing to dream and believing in what we can achieve, regardless of the opposition. We won against a team [Bodø/Glimt in the round of 16] that beat us 3-0 and had had five consecutive victories against teams that were contenders to win the competition. We are among the top eight sides in Europe, as happened in the league phase.”
Iván Fresneda, Sporting CP defender: “I have no words to describe this team. We were sad about the tough first-leg defeat against Bodø/Glimt but we never stopped believing and we really deserved to go through. We demonstrated the true value of Sporting CP. How far can we go in the UEFA Champions League? We’ll see. The tie against Arsenal will be difficult.”
Mikel Arteta, Arsenal coach: “It’s completely different [to last season, when Arsenal won 5-1 at Sporting CP in the league phase]. I watched the first half of their game [against Bodø/Glimt] and they are a top side. It’s going to be very difficult.”
Declan Rice, Arsenal midfielder: “We’re playing against the best teams now, getting down to the business end of the competition, and it’s going to be really tough. We expect a team that’s going to come at us and be really attacking, so we’ll be ready for whatever’s thrown at us.”
Reporter’s view
Carlos Machado, match reporter
To follow