Portugal vs. Czech Republic: preview and betting tips

The Czech national team is doing better than expected in the Nations League so far, after the win against Switzerland came a valuable draw with Spain. But now it’s the turn of the toughest opponent of all, Portugal with star Cristiano Ronaldo. How will the match play out?

The Portuguese have a team full of stars. Cristiano Ronaldo, Bruno Fernandes, João Cancelo, Bernardo Silva, Pepe, Diogo Jota. On paper, they’re one of the best national teams in the world.

But on the pitch it doesn’t quite add up, with coach Fernando Santos unable to put together a line-up and set up a system that will see the Portuguese regularly beat tough opponents.

In the first game of the Nations League, the draw with Spain came when newcomer Horta scored. In the second match, the 2016 European champions demolished Switzerland 4-0, with Cristiano Ronaldo scoring twice and Carvalho and Cancelo adding further goals.

The Czechs are again entering the battle for first place in a relaxed manner. They have a key win against Switzerland in their pocket, plus an unexpected point against Spain.

Coach Jaroslav Šilhavý may change the line-up for the duel at the Sporting Lisbon stadium, he has already announced that Jindřich Staněk will start in goal instead of Tomáš Vaclík.

And what to expect from Thursday’s match? Probably a lot of goals. After all, they’ve come in most of the Czech Republic’s and Portugal’s matches in the Nations League so far. Only in the Portugal-Spain duel have we seen only two goals, otherwise at least three have fallen each time.

The Czech Republic beat Switzerland 2:1, followed by a four-goal draw with Spain (2:2). Portugal scored the same number of goals against Switzerland. I therefore expect at least three goals to be scored on Thursday evening at the Estadio José Alvalade.

Source: Czech national football team, UEFA