The Champions League draw pitted us against a familiar foe in Sporting Lisbon, who we’ve faced many times before in European competition, especially in recent times.
We have been paired with the Portuguese champions in three of the past four seasons, but despite last playing in November 2024, much has changed for the Lions.
Ahead of Tuesday’s game, here is everything you need to know about our opponents.
The history
The third-most successful club in Portuguese football with 57 major honours to their name, Sporting were founded in 1906 by Jose Avalade – whom their stadium is named after. Six years after playing in the top-flight for the first time, they won their first championship in 1935.
A golden period between 1947 and 1954 saw the Lions claim seven out of eight league titles, and the following year they played in the first-ever European Cup match against Partizan Belgrade. 1964 would see them lift their only continental silverware to date, as they beat MTK Budapest to win the European Cup Winners’ Cup final.
The rest of the century saw regular success dry up, but they ended an 18-year wait for a league title in 2000, following that up with a double in 2002. However, an even longer drought would follow, not ending until 2021 after Ruben Amorim’s arrival as manager the year before.
The stadium
After Portugal was awarded the rights to host Euro 2004, construction started on the Estadio Jose Alvalade on the site of Sporting’s former ground of the same name in 2001, which was completed two years later.
Boasting a capacity of 50,095, the new home was opened in August 2003 when Sporting hosted Manchester United in a friendly that brought Cristiano Ronaldo to the attention of the Red Devils who swiftly snapped him up. As well as five matches at Euro 2004, it hosted the 2005 UEFA Cup final where the Lions were denied winning the trophy on home turf by CSKA Moscow.
During Covid-19, it hosted the quarter-finals and semi-finals of the Champions League in behind-closed-doors matches as a neutral venue, while Portugal’s national side regularly play their home matches there.
Last season
Having smashed several club records on their way to a 20th league title under Amorim in 2023/24, Sporting once again claimed the Primeira Liga title the following campaign, despite seeing Amorim poached by Manchester United halfway through the campaign. A draw with Benfica on the penultimate matchday meant the two sides went into the final day locked on points, but Sporting beat Vitoria while Benfica could only draw to ensure the champions retained their crown by two points.
A week later, the two sides contested the Portuguese Cup final, where a penalty 11 minutes into stoppage time saw Viktor Gyokeres net his 54th goal of the season to force extra-time, when two further strikes sealed a first domestic double for Sporting in 23 years. They finished 23rd in the Champions League league phase, beating Manchester City 4-1 along the way thanks to a Gyokeres hat-trick, but were beaten 3-0 on aggregate by Borussia Dortmund in the play-off round.
The manager
Following Amorim’s departure to Manchester United in November 2024, reserve team manager Joao Pereira lost four of his eight games, prompting Sporting to reach out to Rui Borges. A modest playing career saw him reach only the second tier of Portuguese football as a winger before he hung up his boots in 2017 at 35 and moved into coaching at fourth-tier Mirandela.
He managed six clubs in a six-year stint before finally reaching the top-flight when he was appointed Moreirense manager heading into the 2023/24 campaign, and guided them to a sixth-place finish, their best ever result. He then moved to Vitoria de Guimaraes and continued to impress domestically and in the Europa Conference League, ultimately ending up at Sporting to help them win the double.
The squad
After Gyokeres moved between the clubs last summer, Sporting filled the void by signing Colombian striker Luis Suarez from Spanish second-division side Almeria for £22 million. Having won the Segunda’s Golden Boot last term, he has already scored 33 goals this term.
Another £30 million was also spent last summer on Panathinakos’ Greek internationals Giorgos Vagiannidis and Fotis Ioannidis who play at right-back and up front respectively, while goalkeeper Rui Silva made the number one jersey his own since making a loan move from Real Betis permanent.
Having played for Wolves in the Premier League, Portuguese international Francisco Trincao joined from Barcelona and regularly contributes goals, as does another player who spent time at Molineux, Pedro Goncalves. Goncalo Inacio is a regular in the heart of the Sporting and Portugal defence.
Sporting are captained by Danish defensive midfielder Morten Hjulmand, who scored against England at Euro 2024, while 18-year-old wing-back Geovany Quenda broke through last term and was named Primeira Liga Young Player of the Season and named in the U21s Euros Team of the Tournament, but is on his way to Chelsea next summer.
The season so far
Sporting’s grip on the league title seemed to be slipping away, as they trailed Porto by seven points, albeit with a game in hand on their rivals. However, last weekend saw them beat Alverca 4-2 on Friday night, while 24 hours later, Porto could only draw 2-2 with Famalicao, with a 99th-minute concession blowing the title race wide open again.
Lisbon have been beaten in the league only once in 15 months under Borges, against the current leaders back in August. The two sides are also contesting the Portuguese Cup semi-finals with Sporting holding a slender first-leg lead thanks to a Suarez penalty.
An impressive performance in the Champions League league phase saw them beat Kairat, Marseille and Club Brugge as well as draw with Juventus, before back-to-back wins against Paris Saint-Germain and Athletic Bilbao saw them sneak into the top eight and skip the play-off round. In the round of 16, they looked to be heading out after losing 3-0 away to Bodo/Glimt, but an incredible comeback saw them win 5-0 after extra-time to reach the last eight in stunning circumstances.
The previous meetings
This will be the fifth time we have been paired with Sporting in European competition. Our first encounter came back in 1969/70 when we drew 0-0 away from home before a John Radford goal and a George Graham brace saw us progress during our successful Fairs Cup run. Then in 2018, we played two Europa League group games – Danny Welbeck’s strike saw us come out on top at the Estadio Jose Alvalade, before a 0-0 draw at Emirates Stadium booked our place in the knockout stages.
Five years later we met again in the same competition, as we drew 2-2 in Portugal. William Saliba put us in front before efforts from Inacio and Paulinho turned things around. A Morita own goal levelled things up again, but goalless draw in north London saw Sporting triumph on penalties to progress to the quarter-finals.
Last season saw us run riot in the Portuguese capital, as strikes from Gabriel Martinelli, Kai Havertz, Gabriel, Bukayo Saka and Leandro Trossard saw us thrash Sporting in the Champions League league phase.
Copyright 2026 The Arsenal Football Club Limited. Permission to use quotations from this article is granted subject to appropriate credit being given to www.arsenal.com as the source.
