Portugal will be aiming to maintain their 100% record in Group J of the European Championship qualifiers as they host Slovakia. The Slovakians are having a solid campaign but have already lost to the Portuguese, who are expected to complete the double on Friday.
It has been a fantastic qualifying campaign for Portugal who are still maintaining a 100% record after six matches. They are currently eight points clear of third placed Luxembourg and can secure a spot in next year’s tournament in Germany with a win on Friday.
Portugal are not just winning matches in Group J, their campaign has been a perfect balance of attack and defence. Roberto Martinez’s men are yet to concede a single goal in the qualifiers but have found the net 24 times in just six fixtures.
Of course, there have been a few one-sided results for Portugal, one of which came last time out in the qualifiers as they eased to a 9-0 victory over Luxembourg. Goncalo Inacio, Goncalo Ramos and Diogo Jota all netted a brace each while Bruno Fernandes also capped a superb display with a goal of his own.
Slovakia head into Thursday’s clash off the back of a 3-0 victory over Liechtenstein in their previous qualifying fixture. They made a fast start with all three goals coming before the 10th minute through David Hancko, Ondrej Duda and Robert Mak.
It has been a solid qualifying campaign for Slovakia, who have lost just once in six matches and are also on course to progress to next year’s tournament. However, they have played second fiddle to a superb Portuguese side and are currently five points off the pace.
Slovakia’s only defeat in the qualifiers came against Portugal as they were beaten 1-0 in the reverse fixture. Manager Francesco Calzona will be keen to get one over on the 2016 European champions and also boost their qualification chances, with Luxembourg just three points behind.
How the bookies view it
The bookies have installed Portugal as overwhelming favourites with a home win priced at 1/4 by William Hill. A victory for Slovakia is valued at 13/1 by bet365 while Paddy Power is offering odds of 5/1 for a draw.
Head to head
Portugal have never lost to Slovakia with four wins and a draw from five previous matches. The former European champions picked up a 1-0 win in the reverse fixture back in September with Bruno Fernandes getting the goal.
Players to watch
Portugal captain Cristiano Ronaldo has five goals in the qualifiers and is priced at 8/15 by bet365 to score anytime on Friday. Bruno Fernandes has found the net four times, including the winner in the reverse fixture and could be worth keeping an eye on in the same market at 9/5 with Paddy Power.
As good as Portugal have been going forward, they are just as impressive defensively having earned shutouts in all six of their qualifying matches. Ruben Dias and Goncalo Inacio have a solid partnership in central defence and can lead the team to another clean sheet at 4/6 with bet365.
Anything else catch the eye?
Portugal have won to nil in all their qualifying matches so far and could be set for a repeat at 37/40 with BetVictor. Given their attacking quality, a -1 handicap could also be considered at 8/11 with William Hill.
The Portuguese are expected to be dominant on Friday and could be tipped to win both halves at 17/10 with Unibet.
This Euro 2024 match between Portugal and Slovakia will be played on Oct 13, 2023 and kick off at 19:45. Check below for our tipsters best Portugal vs Slovakia prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
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