4 Sept 2019
Portugal Playing Catch Up
Portugal may have landed the inaugural Nations League but they’re left playing catch up in Group B. They’ve drawn their opening two games hosting Ukraine and Serbia, leaving them eight points adrift of the former, though they have those extra games in hand and will hope to make some headway here.
That will be easier said than done however. Since earning 1-1 draws in friendly away in Germany and then Lisbon in the qualifiers, Serbia did suffer a setback as they were utterly demolished 5-0 by Ukraine, but that result appears a one off and they restored some pride with a second 4-1 success hosting Lithuania since late November.
There is a slight question mark over them given this will be new coach Ljubisa Tumbakovic’s first game in charge, but the squad retains all it’s key players such as Nemanja Matic, Dusan Tadic, Sergej Milinkovic-Savic, Aleksandar Mitrovic and Luka Jovic amongst a string of other competent performers.
The Draw
Portugal are rarely defeated over 90 minutes, with just the Netherlands in a friendly and Uruguay in the World Cup managing that feat in 32 games going back to June 2017. They have however drawn nine of the last 17 of these, with teams that are well organized defensively causing them problems as Iran did in the World Cup.
Fernando Santos can be forgiven for sticking with a template that has served his team well in recent years, though with the creative Bernardo Silva nearing his peak years and Joao Felix blossoming at Atletico Madrid, there is a sense that the team is all about Ronaldo still.
When facing outfits below the elite level, a push towards a more proactive approach to taking teams on may be a better fit for the new players coming through.
Given Serbia shouldn’t be a radically changed side, with key partnerships on the field maintained, we can see this potentially being a very frustrating evening for the visitors.
Indeed, that defeat to the Ukraine is Serbia’s only loss in 10 games since the World Cup, but though six of these came in Group C4 of the Nations League, those draws away at Germany and Portugal themselves hint at what they’re capable of.
On home turf, the Serbs have won nine of 12 unbeaten matches now going back to May 2016, and look worth backing to pick up a point.
Both Teams To Score
We wouldn’t be surprised to see both sides register on the board either. Five of Serbia’s last six outings have seen than happen, and in fact 13 of their 15 stalemates going all the way back to September 2013 have seen both teams find the find, with 11 of these finishing 1-1. Portugal have the attacking talent to find a goal, but they’ve only kept four clean sheets in their last 12 matches, including concessions against the likes of Poland (twice), Scotland, Croatia, Serbia, Uruguay and Switzerland.
Both Teams To Score (Yes) At 19/20
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