Tip of the day

Arsenal vs Sporting Lisbon

The first leg of the UEFA Europa League round of 16 tie between Arsenal and Sporting Lisbon took place in Portugal last Thursday and ended in a highly entertaining 2-2 draw. Despite the fact that both coaches had rotated their squads somewhat heavily compared to the previous weekend, the players on the field showed little sign of rustiness. Instead, it was an up-and-down battle with many twists and turns.

It was the kind of open match that is rare to see in the first leg of continental knockout football. In the end, both teams had to settle for going into next Thursday’s second leg with the score being even. Meaning that the decider in London will essentially be a winner-take-all match.

The first encounter between the two teams did little in terms of providing evidence that one of these sides might be significantly stronger than the other. Arsenal of course will host the second leg, which may make them slight favoruites to advance. The leaders of the English Premier League should at least in theory be better than the current fourth-place team of the Portuguese First Division. Though football rarely works that way.

Sporting are without a doubt a quality side. They came into Europa League play after having finished third in their Champions League group that featured Tottenham Hotspur and Eintracht Frankfurt and have been Portuguese champions the season before last.

Arsenal on the other hand, are having their first good season in years, which is getting them close to their first domestic league title since 2004. That may mean that the Gunners could potentially be less focused on Europe, while Sporting may have more to gain from advancing.

All of this however is speculation. The fact is that there was nothing to separate these two teams in the first leg. That means that the second leg might come down to small details, which will ultimately determine who advances. It will be especially interesting to see if the second leg is as open as the first was tactically.