Portugal v Poland Match Result
Portugal are likely to feature in plenty of Nations League accumulator bets this week. Roberto Martinez’s side are massive odds-on to collect a home win at the Estádio do Dragão in Porto, with the bookies thinking that there’s a high probability that the Portuguese will prove too strong for Poland over the ninety minutes.
Before a goalless draw away to Scotland, Portugal had enjoyed three successive wins in the Nations League group stage, with a 2-1 triumph over Croatia being followed by a win by the same scoreline against Scotland. They won 3-1 in Warsaw before being thwarted at Hampden Park, with the team now eyeing a quarter final spot.
It’s certainly risky to lump on Portugal at a big price considering that two of their three successes were by a one-goal margin and it’s not as though this is a must-win fixture for a team who will be entering the last eight stage of the competition.
Poland certainly have nothing to lose from having a go and they have scored seven times in their four matches. However, captain Robert Lewandowski is missing with a lower back injury. There was a 3-2 success away to Scotland to open their campaign, with the Poles only going down by a single goal against Croatia before being outclassed at home to Portugal.
Indeed, that result is probably why the bookmakers have Portugal as massive favourites to get the win, although Michał Probierz’s side did come from two goals down to draw 3-3 with Croatia on 15 October and perhaps they are capable of landing a draw from this contest.
However, the absence of Robert Lewandowski means that the bookies are taking little chance with their match price about Portugal. Based on the fact that he’s absent, there could be merit in wagering the home side and BTTS No considering that it might be a one-sided affair.
Goals Under/Over
It’s little surprise to find Over 2.5 Goals trading as the favourite option when it comes to the goals line, with the teams playing out a 1-3 scoreline last time. We also saw three goals scored in Portugal’s opening two matches, with Cristiano Ronaldo continue to lead the line and he will want to keep making history by scoring for his country.
Bernardo Silva and Bruno Fernandes can also find the net for their country, while Joao Felix, Rafael Leao and Pedro Neto are also good attacking options, while Poland have been involved in some high-scoring encounters for the majority of their Nations League encounters.
There were five goals scored at Hampden Park when they defeated Scotland 3-2 and the net was found six times against Croatia. Therefore, Over 2.5 Goals looks to be a solid bet for the accumulators and some punters might want to consider Over 3.5 Goals for a bigger price.
BTTS
The bookies might be offering odds-on when it comes to Over 2.5 Goals although the prices are pretty similar when it comes to BTTS Yes and BTTS No. The former is trading at a fractionally bigger price with some Nations League betting sites, alluding to the fact that Poland might draw a blank against a strong Portuguese defence.
However, a repeat of the 3-1 victory enjoyed by the hosts in the reverse fixture would see BTTS Yes come in, with three of Poland’s four Nations League encounters seeing this outcome happen, while the same applies with three of Portugal’s four clashes in this competition.
The BTTS No price is trading shorter than you might think due to Poland potentially falling short in front of the net. They might not create too many chances and did draw a blank away to Croatia, while the absence of Robert Lewandowski is a big blow to a side who rely heavily on the goals that come from the Barcelona forward.
When you look at the rest of the squad, there are goals coming from the likes of Karol Świderski and Krzysztof Piątek, although the only other player with a chance of scoring is Piotr Zielinski and the Inter Milan forward might struggle to get into attacking positions.
First Goalscorer
Cristiano Ronaldo has scored an incredible 133 goals in 216 games for his country and the 39-year-old is favourite to find the net first in this clash. The Al Nassr forward has found the net in three of his team’s four Nations League clashes before drawing a blank away to Scotland, although many customers will want him as an anytime scorer when it comes to their Nations League Bet Builders.
Next in the betting come a string of other Portugese players. We know that Bruno Fernandes is a very likely starter and he’s a viable alternative to Ronaldo, with the Manchester United man having a healthy strike rate of 1 in 3 for his country, although Bernardo Silva can also chip in with goals and the vice captain is a backable each-way price.
Francisco Conceição will hope for an opportunity and the Juventus forward could be a star of the future for this team, while Poland are somewhat thin on the ground when it comes to scoring options aside from Robert Lewandowski. However, Krzysztof Piątek is regarded as the player most likely to score and the Istanbul Basaksehir forward has scored twelve goals in thirty-two appearances for his country.