Portugal host Luxembourg on Monday in a fixture that the home side are expected to comfortably win. The two nations have competed against each other quite frequently over the last few years with Portugal winning on each occasion. The last time they met, Roberto Martinez’s men convincingly won 6-0.
Portugal
Since hiring new coach, Roberto Martinez, Portugal have shown a side to their game that they have missed in recent times. Their defensive record is 100%, conceding 0 goals in five matches so far, not to mention that they have won them all also. This puts them on 15 points and they are guaranteed a spot in the European championships if they beat Monday’s opponent.
It is no surprise that Portugal are dominating Group J, simply because of how much talent they have in their squad. For example, Diogo Jota, Joao Felix, Goncalo Ramos, and Goncalo Inacio didn’t even make it off the bench in their 1-0 victory over Slovakia. In that recent triumph, Bruno Fernandes stole the show by performing a creative masterpiece whilst scoring the winning goal. Morale and Momentum is high In the Portuguese camp.
Luxembourg
Luxembourg have surprised plenty so far in qualifying and since that 6-0 battering by Monday’s opponent, they have won three games on the bounce, scoring 7 and conceding just 1. This puts them in third place with 10 points, level with Slovakia. Their most impressive result was a 2-0 away win versus Bosnia, where they executed the perfect counter-attacking gameplan.
Last time out, they faced Iceland at home and walked away with quite a comfortable 3-1 victory. Despite not having the majority of the ball, they showed intent on each attack, creating an astounding five big chances. Danel Sinani and Yvandro Borges Sanches both got on the scoresheet, and their attacking threat will be needed versus Portugal.
Verdict?
Portugal should win this game even if Martinez decided to rotate his squad. Luxembourg aren’t an easy opponent even though the reverse fixture suggests otherwise and they can cause Portugal problems, especially if they become complacent.
The final prediction is Portugal 2-0 Luxembourg,
