Portugal vs Serbia
It’s early days in Euro 2020 qualifying but this match already has a look of one which could be very important in the final standings.
Serbia have just enjoyed an encouraging 1-1 friendly draw in Germany (not that a tackle late in the game was particularly friendly) and are showing signs of improvement after an uninspiring World Cup.
Meanwhile, the reigning European Champions Portugal will not want to drop more points after encountering frustration in their opening qualifier, being held by Ukraine.
SBOBET fans will know Cristiano Ronaldo and Co rarely fail to win twice at home in a row.
Talking Points
Certainly, Portugal know they are facing arguably the side considered their strongest opponents in the group.
Ronaldo will never be far from the Euro 2020 news of course, but he has a star-studded supporting cast, with some of the top players in the Portuguese league at FC Porto and Benfica, as well as big names from the Premier League and La Liga.
Bernardo Silva is having an impressive season at Manchester City and midfield powerhouse William Carvalho is enjoying a fine season at Real Betis.
Meanwhile, in Wolves’ creative duo Ruben Neves and Joao Moutinho who are making waves at club level, plus goalkeeper Rui Patricio, they have a real spark.
Despite their goalless draw against the Ukraine, in which Ronaldo featured for the national team for the first time since last summer’s World Cup in Russia, Portugal showed they remain a force.
Ukraine’s veteran goalkeeper Andriy Pyatov played a key part in frustrating the hosts, twice denying Ronaldo in the first half before pulling off an exceptional save from Andre Silva.
He then tipped over Pepe’s blistering effort and was relieved when an offside flag ruled out a William Carvalho header.
Fernando Santos’ side will meet opponents who have been hit hard by injuries.
Manchester United man Nemanja Matic has already withdrawn from the squad and has been joined on the sidelines by Ljubomir Fejsa with Aleksandsr Kolarov and Filip Kostic already out.
It could be that their trip to the Estadio da Luz may be one game too many for this squad.
History
Serbia will be hoping to finally claim a win against Portugal at the fifth attempt.
Both meetings in 2007 – in the Euro 2008 qualifying campaign – ended 1-1.
Tiago and Dejan Stankovic traded goals in Belgrade, while Simao and Branislav Ivanovic did the same in Lisbon.
When they next met in 2015 in qualifying for Euro 2016 – a tournament Portugal would go onto win – Ricardo Carvalho and Fabio Coentrao secured a 2-1 Portugal success. Matic netted for Serbia.
Portugal also won the return fixture in Serbia by the same scoreline when Nani and Joao Moutinho scored the goals with Zoran Tosic replying for Serbia.
Betting Tip
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Spain vs Serbia | Portugal Asian Handicap -1.00 @ 2.12 |
| March 26, 03:45 (GMT+8) |
Euro 2020 qualifying betting odds favour Portugal and that is no surprise.
However, it should be remembered both these sides can be difficult to beat and are unbeaten in their last six matches.
In Serbia coach, Mladen Krstajic, Serbia have a coach who, like Santos, went onto to oversee a promotion winning campaign in the UEFA Nations League.
A SHORT EXPLANATION ON HOW OUR ( ) BETS ARE WORTH: |
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|---|---|---|---|
 = €20 (Highly confident) |
= €10 (CONFIDENT) |
= €5 (SOMEWHAT CONFIDENT) |
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Disclaimer: Odds are correct at time of publish.
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