Home / Football / Champions League News Sporting v Arsenal: Line-ups confirmed as Saka misses out Gunners looking to progress in the Champions League Written by Tom Rostance Last Update: April 7, 2026 06:51:52 pm BST 3 min read Arsenals pursuit of Champions League glory comes under the microscope again in Portugal as Mikel Artetas side look to bounce back from FA Cup heartache. The Gunners were beaten at Southampton at the weekend and are now down to just two possible trophies this season.They have never won the Champions League losing the final to Barcelona in 2006 and are looking to reach the semis for a second straight year.The winners of the tie will advance to a two-legged semi-final against Barcelona or Atletico Madrid, who meet in the first leg of their quarter-final at Camp Nou on Wednesday (20:00 BST).Arsenal striker Viktor Gykeres is up against his old club, having scored 97 goals in 102 games for the Portuguese side. Heres how they line up.Table of Contents1 Sporting team news2 Arsenal team news3 Where to watch Sporting v Arsenal: TV channel, live online streams4 Sporting v Arsenal statsSporting team newsLuis Suarez returns from suspension for Sporting but winger Geovany Quenda, who will join Chelsea next season for �40 million, is recovering from a metatarsal injury.Head coach Rui Borges has right-back Ivan Fresneda back from illness after missing Fridays 4-2 home win over Santa Clara.Sporting XI: Rui Silva, Maxi Arajo, Gonalo Incio, Ousmane Diomande, Ivn Fresneda, Jo�o Simes, Hidemasa Morita, Pote, Trinc�o, Geny Catamo, Luis SurezArsenal team newsBukayo Saka misses out for Arsenal, joining full-back Piero Hincapie (hamstring), midfielder Mikel Merino (foot) and forward Eberechi Eze (calf) on the sidelines.Gabriel was a doubt but starts. Midfielders Christian Norgaard and Martin Zubimendi must avoid bookings to be eligible for the second leg.Arsenal XI: David Raya, Riccardo Calafiori, Gabriel Magalh�es, William Saliba, Ben White, Declan Rice, Martn Zubimendi, Martin degaard, Leandro Trossard, Viktor Gykeres, Noni MaduekeWhere to watch Sporting v Arsenal: TV channel, live online streamsKick-off on Tuesday is at 20:00 BST (15:00 ET / 12:00 PT), with live coverage in the UK on Amazon Prime Video.APrime Videomembership is �8.99 per month or �95 per year paid annually, with a half-price offer for fans aged between 18 and 22.Membership includes unlimited delivery on a huge selection of Amazon items and a range of other perks such as movies, series, documentaries and photo storage.A 30-day free trial is available.Sporting v Arsenal statsSportinghave won their last 17 home matches in all competitionsThey won the only previous two-legged tie between the teams ended, advancing on penalties in the 2022/23 UEFA Europa League round of 16The Lions have won nine of their ten two-legged European ties against English teams but lost their only such tie in this competition against Manchester City in 2021/22Two of their last 13 European matches against English opposition have ended victoriously (D5 L6), though they were unbeaten in six straight (W2 D4) before a 5-1 home defeat to Arsenal on Matchday 5 of the 2024/25Champions Leaguein their most recent such encounterThe last Portuguese side to win a Champions League quarter-final tie was Porto in 2003/04, going on to lift the trophyArsenalare unbeaten in European competition against Sporting (W2 D3)Their 5-1 aggregate win over Real Madrid last season took Arsenal to three wins from their nine quarter-final ties in the competitionNo team has scored more goals from outside the box in this seasons competition than Arsenal (6, alongside Paris Saint-Germain and Liverpool)Atletico Madrid (7) are the only team still in theChampions Leagueto have scored more headers than them (5, alongside Liverpool)Gyokeres scored 97 goals in 102 games for Sporting between 2023 and 2025 Topics: Arsenal F.C. Sporting CP Follow us: Tom Rostance Reporter Tom has been writing about football - and other sports - for almost 20 years. He has covered four summer Olympics and many, many, many football matches from the World Cup final to the bottom of the EFL. Read more from Tom Rostance
