MX23RW : Monday, November 12 10:07:55
Nov 8, 2018 at 8pm UK at ​Emirates Stadium (London)
Arsenal
0-0
Sporting Lisbon
FT

Mathieu (87')

How Arsenal could line up against Sporting Lisbon

Ahead of Thursday's Europa League clash between Arsenal and Sporting Lisbon, Sports Mole looks at how the Gunners could line up.

Arsenal can book their place in the first knockout round of the Europa League with victory over Sporting Lisbon at the Emirates Stadium on Thursday night.

The Gunners beat the Portuguese side 1-0 two weeks ago through a late Danny Welbeck goal to stretch their perfect start in Group E to three matches.

Unai Emery, a three-time winner of this competition with Sevilla, will now be keen to complete the job on home soil this week with a couple of matches to spare.

Here, Sports Mole looks at how Arsenal could line up against second-placed Sporting.

Possible ARS XI vs. SPO

Out: Konstantinos Mavropanos (groin), Mohamed Elneny (hamstring), Laurent Koscielny (Achilles)
Doubtful: Ainsley Maitland-Niles (leg), Sokratis Papastathopoulos (ankle), Nacho Monreal (hamstring)

Sead Kolasinac's return from a month-long layoff was a welcome boost for Emery ahead of the 1-1 draw with Liverpool, offering much-needed cover in the left-back department.

The Bosnian's comeback has freed Granit Xhaka to move to his favoured defensive midfield position, and both men are expected to retain their places for this fourth Group E outing.

After sitting out the Liverpool match through suspension, Matteo Guendouzi is likely to come back into the side, while Sokratis is also in contention to feature for the first time since the 1-0 win at Sporting in the reverse fixture.

Despite his shaky form, Bernd Leno appears to be Emery's first-choice keeper in the Premier League, so Petr Cech looks certain to be given some more minutes in midweek.

Elsewhere, Alex Iwobi, Aaron Ramsey and Welbeck were all used from the bench last weekend and should therefore start against Sporting as Emery is given the chance to rotate.

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Who will win Thursday's Europa League clash between Arsenal and Sporting Lisbon?

Arsenal
Draw
Sporting Lisbon
Arsenal
87.1%
Draw
5.9%
Sporting Lisbon
7.1%
Aaron Ramsey in action for Arsenal on September 15, 2018
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How Arsenal could line up against Sporting
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Tables
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Manchester CityMan City1210203653132
2Liverpool129302351830
3Chelsea128402781928
4Tottenham HotspurSpurs1290320101027
5Arsenal1273226151124
6Bournemouth126242116520
7Watford126241714320
8Manchester UnitedMan Utd126242021-120
9Everton125431915419
10Leicester CityLeicester125251716117
11Wolverhampton WanderersWolves124441213-116
12Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton124261318-514
13West Ham UnitedWest Ham123361418-412
14Newcastle UnitedNewcastle12237915-69
15Burnley122371225-139
16Crystal Palace12228817-98
17Southampton12156821-138
18Cardiff CityCardiff122281125-148
19Huddersfield TownHuddersfield12147622-167
20Fulham121291131-205

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