Portugal vs Poland: Prediction, Preview & Betting Tips

Portugal are in terrific form heading into this game, and we are backing them to comfortably win this one. They are unbeaten in their previous four games in all competitions, and are facing a Poland side who have no wins in their previous three.

Defensively, this game looks to be a struggle for the visitors, as they are chasing their first clean sheet in their last nine. This fixture tends to provide entertainment of some sort and the recent history favours the hosts, as Portugal are unbeaten in their last six against Poland, though neither side have kept a clean sheet in the previous four between the two teams. Both teams have scored in six of the previous seven between the two teams, so expect that trend to continue here - Portugal 3-1 Poland

Portugal host Poland on matchday five of the Nations League, as they look to confirm their place in the next stage of the competition.

Date: 15/11/24

Kick-off time: 19:45

Venue: Estádio do Dragão

It has been a dominant campaign so far for Portugal as they top the group with 10 points from four games. They lead Croatia by three points and Poland by six, meaning a draw against their upcoming opponents will ensure a top two finish. Their only dropped points of the tournament so far came in a goalless draw at Scotland.

Poland will be hoping to boost their chances of a top two finish with victory on Friday. A win would see them join Croatia on seven points, depending on the result of their fixture against Scotland. A draw with Portugal would mean they’d need to rely on Scotland taking points off Croatia. Leaving with no points would confirm a bottom place finish.

The hosts come into this one as favourites, but both teams have had similar success in front of goal. In four games, they have scored seven goals each, though Poland have struggled defensively. Cristiano Ronaldo has scored six goals for Al-Nassr this season, adding to his three strikes in the Nations League. Bruno Fernandes has also made some important contributions, providing two assists. They should be confident in threatening a defence who have yet to keep a clean sheet in this competition.

At the back, Portugal themselves have kept just one clean sheet, but have only conceded three overall, all coming in wins. However, Poland will be without their main threat, Robert Lewandowski, who has had an exceptional start to the season. He has already scored 14 goals in 13 league games for Barcelona. Nicola Zalewski leads them in the Nations League with two goals. But they have shown they can be dangerous going forward, scoring three times on two separate occasions.

This will be the sixth meeting between the pair since 2012. Portugal are unbeaten in this stretch with three wins and two draws. Poland have not won against their opponents since 2006 which came in Euros Qualifying. Portugal won the reverse fixture in October, beating Poland 3-1 away from home. Bernardo Silva and Ronaldo were both on the scoresheet, adding to a late own goal.

Portugal vs Poland will not be available to watch on TV in the UK.

Portugal

Cristiano Ronaldo will captain the side. Ruben Dias and Ruben Neves miss out on the squad through injury. Premier League stars Bernardo Silva, Bruno Fernandes, Pedro Neto and Joao Felix are set to play important roles.

Poland

Robert Lewandowski will miss out with a back injury. The likes of Nicola Zalewski and Sebastian Szymanski will play a greater role in attack.

Portugal:

In their last five games, Portugal have won three and drawn two. It has been a strong stretch for Portugal in which they have gone undefeated. However, this run dates back to the European Championships where they were eliminated in the quarter-final by France. The game ended goalless after 90 minutes and extra-time, but the French advanced 5-3 on penalties.

Portugal’s Nations League campaign began with a home game against Croatia. They were 2-1 winners with Diogo Dalot and Cristiano Ronaldo on the scoresheet. Dalot then converted into his own net to halve the deficit, but it was not enough for the visitors to mount a comeback. They followed this with a victory of the same scoreline against Scotland. Scott McTominay gave their opponents an early lead, but second half strikes from Bruno Fernandes and Ronaldo turned it around.

Poland hosted the Portuguese side on matchday three of the tournament, and the visitors won 3-1. Bernardo Silva opened the scoring, before Ronaldo found the back of the net for the third game in a row. Their most recent game was a goalless draw with Scotland, where they could not take advantage of their dominance.

Poland:

In their last five games, Poland have won one, drawn two and lost two. It has been an underwhelming run for Poland as they have fallen behind in their Nations League group. This stretch of games began with their final fixture in the Euros, however. This was a 1-1 draw against France as they were eliminated in the group stages. A Robert Lewandowski penalty cancelled out an earlier spot-kick from Kylian Mbappe.

They were able to put this behind them with a 3-2 victory at Scotland in their opening Nations League game. It came in dramatic fashion as they squandered a 2-0 half-time lead. Sebastian Szymanski and Lewandowski put them in control, but it took a 97th minute penalty from Nicola Zalewski to take home all three points. A 1-0 defeat at Croatia meant they were unable to build on their previous win. Luka Modric’s strike was the decisive moment.

The first fixture against their next opponents Portugal was a 3-1 loss. Piotr Zielinksi scored the only goal for his side. Last time out, they played out a 3-3 thriller with Croatia. Zielinski opened the scoring early, but Croatia scored three unanswered in the space of seven minutes. Zalewski pulled one back on the stroke of half-time, before Szymanski levelled it midway through the second half.

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