Sporting vs Arsenal in Europa League: how to watch UEL last 16 fixture on UK TV - live stream, KO time

Ruben Amorim’s Sporting have had to make do with a spot in the second tier of European football after failing to pip both Eintracht Frankfurt and Tottenham Hotspur in the group stages of the Champions League. They were then placed in the round of 32 where they beat Midtjylland 5-1 on aggregate following a triumphant 4-0 second leg tie in Denmark.

They will now prepare to face a rampant Arsenal who, since their last European outing, have been able to hold a five-point advantage at the top of the Premier League, with 12 games left to play. Arsenal also come into this fixture off the back of one of the most dramatic last-minute wins the Emirates will have ever seen. The Gunners found themselves 2-0 down to Bournemouth after goals from Philip Billing and Marcus Senesi, but Mikel Arteta’s men fought back, with academy product Reiss Nelson scoring the winning goal in the seventh minute of added time.

While a spot in the Champions League next year looks all but guaranteed for the Gunners, making this year’s European campaign slightly less of a priority, Arsenal have never been knocked out in the last 16 of the Europa League and will no doubt hope to try and secure their first European trophy since 1994.

Here is all you need to know ahead of Sporting vs Arsenal...

When is Sporting vs Arsenal?

The two sides will meet later today, Thursday 9 March, and kick-off is scheduled for 5.45pm GMT. Sporting’s Estadio Jose Alvalade will host the fixture. There is a capacity for over 50,000 spectators and the Portuguese stadium, built in 2001, is named after the founder and first member of Sporting CP.

How to watch Sporting vs Arsenal

BT Sport will have all the coverage from the UEFA Europa League matches. Fans can subscribe to a monthly pass for £29.99/month and highlights will then be available after the final whistle on the BT Sport YouTube channel and on the BBC Sport’s website.

There is also a highlights show on BT Sport which begins at 10.30pm on Europa League nights, covering all the biggest talking points from the fixtures.

Head-to-Head

This will be the fifth meeting between Arsenal and Sporting CP in the Europa League with the Gunners yet to lose or concede a goal in their previous four. Their last meeting was in 2018, which ended in a 0-0 draw. Arsenal are also unbeaten in their six previous meetings with Portuguese opponents in the European competition and have kept a clean sheet in four of their last five Europa League games.

Sporting, however, have progressed from each of their previous six ties against English sides in the knockout stages of the UEFA Cup/Europa League with all six coming against different teams.

Team news

Sporting’s Manuel Ugarte picked up his third European booking of the season and is now set to miss the upcoming knock-out match through suspension. Amorim will also be without Daniel Braganca who is still recovering from a ruptured cruciate ligament and the 19-year-old Mateo Tanlongo from Argentina will likely take his place.

As for their opponents, Arteta is at risk of being without his three recognised central attacking options after Leandro Trossard came off with a groin problem in the recent win against Bournemouth. He will be joined on the sidelines by Gabriel Jesus and Mohamed Elneny while Eddie Nketiah’s ankle problem also unlikely to have healed in time for the first leg.