PORTUGAL play host to Turkey in a World Cup playoff semi-final on Thursday night, with both nations looking to move one step closer to this year's winter showpiece in Qatar.
In a dramatic contest to decide automatic qualification, the 2016 European Championship winners were pipped to first place in Group A by Serbia.
That means Fernando Santos' side now face the ultimate pressure cooker of the playoffs, where they could potentially be on course to meet fellow behemoths Italy in one of the three finals.
However, before that potential heavyweight showdown, Portugal face the stern test of squaring off against a Turkey team who will be seeking to stamp their ticket to the World Cup for the first time in two decades.
Following a 6-1 drubbing against the Netherlands in World Cup qualification, on a night where my anytime goalscorer bet banked, Şenol Güneş was relieved of his duties as national boss.
Stefan Kuntz is now at the wheel and the German steadied the ship by steering the Crescent-Stars to 10 points from a possible 12 in Group G, securing second spot in the pool in the process.
Outright Betting
Despite failing to win any of their last two competitive fixtures, Portugal head into this playoff semi-final as red-hot 7/18 (SBK) favourites.
Turkey, who completed qualification with three straight wins, enter this contest as 8/1 (SBK) underdogs while the 90 minute draw is also deemed unlikely at 4/1 (SBK).
Betting Angles
It's hard to be tempted about Portugal winning this match at such a short price but siding with under 2.5, 3.0 goals on the Asian goal line is an appealing alternative at 5/6 (Bet 365).
This selection would see us enjoy a full-profit winner should the match generate 0, 1 or 2 goals, with half our stakes returned if there are exactly three goals scored in the game.
It goes without saying that this is a key game for both teams' so it could be a tight and cagey affair in northwest Portugal on Thursday night.
Whilst Portugal boss Fernando Santos has an awesome array of attacking talent at his disposal, he is a manager who is happy to sacrifice flair for success.
What's more, history shows that Santos' star-studded side have been successful thanks to a well-schooled defence over the years and that pragmatism means that Portugal are rarely involved in high-scoring games.
The Selecao shutout their opponents in four of their eight group games (50%), not to mention five of their last six competitive contests have featured three goals or fewer.
Turkey, on the other hand, have definitely saw some marked improvement under Stefan Kuntz's stewardship, but against a side as good as Portugal, the visitors won’t want to be giving anything away so they’re likely to attempt to keep things tight, especially during the early stages of this do-or-die dust-up
With this in mind, and given that the stakes couldn't be higher here, siding with the aforementioned Asian angle at the Estadio do Dragao on Thursday night holds appeal at 5/6 (Bet 365).
This World Cup match between Portugal and Turkey will be played on Mar 24, 2022 and kick off at 19:45. Check below for our tipsters best Portugal vs Turkey prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
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