With their creative talisman Martin Odegaard back from injury and pulling the strings, Arsenal look to right their UEFA Champions League campaign as they visit in-form Sporting CP on Tuesday.
Odegaard returned from a two-month absence over the weekend, looking his electric self in a 3-0 victory over Nottingham Forest that ended a three-match skid for the Gunners. Sitting 12th in the Champions League table after a listless defeat to Inter Milan, a win here for Arsenal would put them in a great position to challenge for a bye to the Round of 16.
Yet that's far from a foregone conclusion as they must face the surprisingly stout Portuguese leaders Sporting, who have ridden electric young striker Viktor Gyokeres to 10 points through their first four European games.
Gyokeres registered a hat-trick as Sporting trounced Man City 4-1 in their last Champions League match, putting not just their next English opponent but all of Europe on notice.
Yet it remains to be seen how Sporting will adapt to the loss of their highly coveted manager Ruben Amorim, who finally departed for Manchester United this month after much speculation.
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Sporting CP vs. Arsenal lineups, confirmed starting 11, team news
Defender Zeno Debast was withdrawn at halftime of Sporting's last league game against Braga before the international break with a thigh injury, and he is out for this game. Goncalo Inacio and Jerry St. Juste both start as part of a back three.
Wide man Nuno Santos is out for a while with a patella tendon tear, while Portugal international Pedro Goncalves misses the match due to a muscle issue.
Sporting CP lineup (3-4-3, right to left): Israel (GK) — St. Juste, Diomande, Inacio — Quenda, Morita, Hjulmand, Araujo — Trincao, Gyokeres, Edwards
Sporting CP subs: Reis, Kovacevic, Harder, Catamo, Fresneda, Braganca, Callai, Esgaio, Brito, Joao Simoes, Miguel Alves, Couto
Injured: Nuno Santos (knee), Debast (thigh), Pedro Goncalves (muscle).
Suspended: None.
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The return of Martin Odegaard over the weekend from an ankle injury seemed to breathe new life into the Arsenal squad. They also have Bukayo Saka available after he withdrew from international duty for England the previous week, which caused a bit of a stir, despite Mikel Arteta's insistence that the injury was legitimate.
Ben White will be out until the new year after having knee surgery, and Takehiro Tomiyasu is also missing due to a knee issue. Kieran Tierney has returned to training from his long-term hamstring injury and makes the bench for this fixture.
Arteta rang the changes against Nottingham Forest, backing his decision to sit Declan Rice and Gabriel Martinelli amongst other regular starters, but they both return for this big European match.
Arsenal lineup (4-3-3, right to left): Raya (GK) — Timber, Saliba, Gabriel, Calafiori — Odegaard, Partey, Rice — Saka, Havertz, Martinelli
Arsenal subs: Tierney, Jesus, Kiwior, Zinchenko, Trossard, Jorginho, Merino, Sterling, Neto, Setford, Lewis-Skelly, Nwaneri
Injured: White (knee), Tomiyasu (knee)
Suspended: None
Sporting CP vs. Arsenal live stream, TV channel
Here's how to watch this Champions League match across selected areas of the world's major regions:
| TV channel | Streaming | |
| USA | — | Paramount+ |
| Canada | — | DAZN |
| UK | TNT Sports 1 | discovery+ |
| Australia | — | Stan Sport |
| India | Sony TEN 5 | Sony LIV, JioTV |
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