Confident Arsenal gunning for more success

Europa League
BT Sport 2, 5.55pm Thursday

Arsenal are growing in confidence with every match and look solid favourites to overcome Sporting in Lisbon and extend their winning sequence to 11 games.

The battle for supremacy in Group E always looked like being a straight shootout between the Gunners and Sporting, who both have six points from two games.

The pair are highly likely to advance to the knockout stages and fixtures between them over the next two matchdays will probably decide who tops the group.

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Winning in the Portuguese capital is the toughest test of Arsenal's credentials but it is far from an insurmountable task.

The Gunners produced scratchy away victories away at Cardiff (3-2) and Newcastle (2-1) in the early stages of their winning run but performances have become more polished and there was a swagger about their displays away to Fulham (5-1) and at home to Leicester (3-1).

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang came off the bench in the Fulham and Leicester games – scoring two goals on each occasion – and he looks a likely candidate to lead the attack in Lisbon.

Boss Unai Emery may opt to give some of his regulars a rest with Sunday's clash at Crystal Palace in mind but the Spaniard's approach to the Europa League group stage has been very different to that of Arsene Wenger, who relied heavily on youngsters and fringe players.

Emery guided Sevilla to Europa League glory three times and will feel he has a good chance of taking Arsenal to next year's final in Baku.

Sporting were Europa League quarter-finalists last season, losing 2-1 on aggregate to Atletico Madrid, who went on to win the tournament. However, they are nowhere near the same force this term after the departures of several key players.

Goalkeeper Rui Patricio, right-back Cristiano Piccini, holding midfielder William Carvalho and winger Gelson Martins have all moved on and Sporting have made a stuttering start to their campaign, with league defeats away to Braga and Portimonense. With seven games of the season gone Sporting are fifth, four points adrift of leaders Benfica.

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They have matched Arsenal stride for stride in the Europa League but needed two injury-time goals to register a 2-1 win away to Vorskla Poltava of Ukraine on matchday two.

Sporting have racked up five successive home wins and, considering the summer talent drain, head coach Jose Peseiro can be fairly pleased with his work but they may struggle to contain their in-form visitors.

Recommendation
Arsenal
1pt 11-10 bet365

Bet on this game at Soccerbase.com

Team news
Sporting
Jeremy Mathieu and Bas Dost are set to miss out through injury.

Arsenal
Sead Kolasinac and Nacho Monreal are injury doubts after missing the 3-1 victory over Leicester but Sokratis Papastathopoulos is back in training after a minor injury. Laurent Koscielny is still recovering from a long-term Achilles problem.

Key stat
Sporting have lost their last three matches against English teams.

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