Champions League: Arsenal are looking to regain their momentum, while Sporting are ready to defend their 20-match unbeaten run at home.

Although a quadruple is probably a pipe dream, the manner of their defeat to Man City in the recent Carabao Cup final also raises questions about Mikel Arteta's strategy in big games.

Gyokeres could make history

With the Premier League title now within their grasp for the first time in 22 years, Arsenal's focus is undoubtedly on their European campaign.

Their upcoming match against Sporting, a team that has never beaten them in regular time in the previous seven matches (four draws, three losses), should boost the Arsenal players' confidence, something they lacked when facing Man City and Southampton.

For example, Viktor Gyokeres could well score against the team he played so well against while representing the Portuguese national team.

Despite the Swedish player's shortcomings in his style of play, he is top of the scoring charts (17 goals in all competitions) and could become the first player to score for and against Sporting.

20 unbeaten home games

Arsenal have scored in all 10 of their Champions League matches this season; however, Sporting have won all five of their home matches in the competition this season, scoring 16 goals and conceding only three.

Five of these came in the final match against Bodo/Glimt, in a match where Sporting were 3-0 down after the first leg.

In fact, Os Leões are on an incredible 20-match unbeaten run at home at the Estádio José Alvalade in all competitions, so the North London team may find it difficult to win.

If Sporting can establish a significant lead in the first leg, the second leg at the Emirates Stadium in less than a week will be extremely challenging for Arteta and his team.

Will these injuries affect Arsenal?

Their task will be very difficult from the outset, as Gabriel sustained an injury in the match against Southampton, leaving him with only a 25% chance of playing on Tuesday.

Jurrien Timber, Declan Rice and Leandro Trossard are at 75%, while Bukayo Saka and Eberechi Eze are at 50%. All five players will undergo late fitness tests to determine their availability. Piero Hincapié and Mikel Merino will certainly be absent from the visitors' lineup.

As this is the first time that Sporting have reached this stage of the competition since changing their name in the early 1990s, their lack of experience could be a disadvantage, regardless of how well Rui Borges and his assistant coaches prepare for the two matches.

Not to mention that Arsenal have conceded an average of 0.5 goals per game this season, largely thanks to the excellent form of the centre-backs and the superb goalkeeping of David Raya.

Arsenal failed to win any of their European knockout matches in Portugal.

After being eliminated in five of their last eight Champions League quarter-finals and having never beaten a Portuguese opponent on the road in European knockout competitions (two losses, four draws), Arsenal need to break a difficult curse if they are to reach the semi-finals for the first time in two seasons (where they will face Barcelona or Atlético Madrid).

Gyokeres understands the creativity of his former teammate Trincao very well, and they must keep him under tight control if they want to return to North London with an advantage.

If he is allowed to cause havoc — he has created the most chances for his team in the Champions League this season (14) — Luis Suarez is likely to be the main beneficiary.

The forward has scored five goals in the team's current European campaign, and needs just one more to equal Gyokeres' club record. Suárez also has the most shots (30) and the most shots on target (14).

It is expected to be a high-scoring game.

For Arsenal, Gabriel Martinelli's six goals remain unbeaten, while Saka's 25 shots and 14 shots on target are the best so far.

With Declan Rice creating the most chances (17), it's clear to see the importance of having the other two players in the team.

In terms of goals, Sporting have scored at least three in five of their last six matches in this competition, while Arsenal have scored three in four of their last six, suggesting that this match could be a feast of attacking football.

What may surprise many is that the home team has a better conversion rate in the Champions League this season than the Premier League team (22% – 20%), has made more passes (5,030 – 4,480) and also has a better pass completion rate than Arsenal (87% – 85%).

Both teams have scored the most goals in the competition between the 60th and 75th minutes, which is also the only time in any Champions League match this season that Arsenal have not conceded.

This is a fascinating relationship that we are looking forward to seeing unfold...