Arsenal welcome Sporting CP to Emirates Stadium on Wednesday, April 15th 2026. Kick off is at 8:00 PM BST – that’s 9:00 PM WAT and 20:00 local time – and this UEFA Champions League quarterfinal second leg is going to be a cracker. With Mikel Arteta‘s team holding a slim 2-1 lead from the first leg in Lisbon, the Gunners are looking to knock out the Portuguese side and get themselves into the semi-finals for the first time in ages – meanwhile Sporting will be looking to mount some sort of comeback in North London.
Match Summary
The Gunners took that narrow first leg win thanks to some clinical finishing and that late winner at the Camp Nou – well, it was in Lisbon, but you get the idea. This season they’ve been brilliant at the Emirates, winning pretty much every home game with their dominant possession and high pressing. What we’ll be looking for tonight is for Arsenal to control the game early on and avoid giving Sporting even a sniff of a chance to get back into it.
Sporting themselves showed some quality in the first leg – they’ve got pace on the break and they’re pretty useful from dead ball situations. However, they’ve had some problems away against top English sides and now they’ll be chasing this game, which could just leave Arsenal with some space to exploit.
The tie is still very much up for grabs, but that Emirates atmosphere will make it about as tough as it gets for the Portuguese side. We’re expecting Arsenal to boss the ball, while Sporting look to catch them on the break and ping some long balls down the pitch. It should be a bit of an open and exciting night of European football – with goals likely.
Head-to-head: Arsenal lead 2-1 on aggregate from that first leg, and historically the Gunners have been pretty strong at home against European opponents.
Lineups – we’ll take a look at those
Arsenal (4-3-3): Raya – Timber, Saliba, Gabriel, Calafiori – Rice, Zubimendi, Ødegaard – Saka, Havertz, Martinelli
Mikel Arteta’s got a near full squad at his disposal tonight and Bukayo Saka is expected to start. He’s the key creative outlet for Arsenal, and Kai Havertz and Gabriel Martinelli will be looking to cause problems up front.
Sporting CP (4-2-3-1): Rui Silva – Fresneda, Diomande, Inácio, Araújo – Morita, Bragança – Catamo, Trincão, Pedro Gonçalves – Gyökeres
Sporting will likely go all out for it tonight – Viktor Gyökeres leads the line and is their biggest threat, and he’s got some talented midfielders around him to help him cause problems.
Prediction
It’s all looking pretty good for Arsenal – their home dominance and that cushion from the first leg should be enough to see them through. As long as Bukayo Saka and the rest of the attacking unit can keep creating chances, I reckon they’ll run out comfortable winners.
Sporting will push forward and may get a goal – and Viktor Gyökeres is the man they’ll be looking to get on the end of things. But in the end, I think the quality and the Emirates crowd will prove too much for them – and Arsenal will edge through to the semis.
Final score prediction: Arsenal 3-1 Sporting CP (Arsenal win 5-2 on aggregate)
