Portugal v Poland Betting Tip Portugal – 20 November 2018

Portugal to round campaign off with win

International Football Tips

Tuesday 20th November 1945hrs Portugal v Poland Football – International – UEFA Nations League We now know that not only will Portugal be competing in the Nations League finals next summer, the finals themselves will be hosted in Portugal. Their opponents on Tuesday evening were also one of the proposes host countries (as was the third team in this group Italy, funnily enough) but it’s the European Champions who will that get honour having already confirmed top spot and they will be looking to end their group campaign in style with win. Continue reading for a match preview of Portugal against Poland with a best bet selection.

It was mission accomplished for Portugal on Friday night having secured the result needed to ensure they finish top of Group Three in League A. The goalless draw at the San Siro means that Fernando Santos’ men cannot be caught by the Italians who have now finished their campaign and Poland were all but relegated after the last international break. It was a performance we have come to expect from this Portuguese team – dogged, resilient and determined. A far cry from their other away game in this section which they won 3-2 against this opponent and I alluded to in my preview of Friday night’s game that Santos would be looking for his players to go back to basics to get the result required and they certainly done that. Now, with the pressure off and their place in the finals guaranteed – along with the prospect to look forward to of hosting the finals – Portugal can approach tomorrow’s game with Poland with a confidence and even the opportunity to play a few of their fringe players. One thing they have not been able to do this calendar year is win consecutive home games and although somewhat inconsequential, they will be wanting to win this game.

Poland knew that it would have taken an improbable set of results to see them remain in the top league for the next Nations League before this international break came around and any semblance of hope was removed with the result in Italy on Friday. They will now be preparing for the Euro 2020 qualifying draw which takes place a week on Sunday and it remains to be seen if Poland will be in Pot 1 or Pot 2 depending on how the final matches of the UEFA Nations League play out on Monday and Tuesday. Their only point in this competition so far came in their opening game, a 1-1 draw away to Italy. That result looked to set them up for home games against the Italians and Portugal, but they were defeated in both and makes their final game a dead rubber. It also caps off what has been a disappointing 2018 having failed to make an impact in the summer’s World Cup and were eliminated at the group stage. It was hardly the ideal prep for this game as they lost at home to the Czech Republic in a friendly game on Thursday.

Portugal v Poland Betting Tip

With everything settled in this section and the game coming so close to the restart of the club football this coming weekend, we’ve somewhat expectedly seen some top players from both teams withdraw from selection for this one. The impressive Bernardo Silva has returned early to Manchester City because of a thigh injury whilst the free scoring Robert Lewandowski has done similar to Bayern Munich. The smart money is on both being fit enough to play in their sides weekend matches but you can hardly blame them taking this precaution.

Portugal topping this group is that bit more impressive considering they have not had the services of Cristiano Ronaldo but there squad depth is much greater now than it was when winning Euro 2016 and as such, the prospects are positive for what’s to come. Poland have hit something of a lull recently, though, and have managed just three wins in 2018 which is some way below the standards we have come to expect for them. There’s plenty of youth within their ranks, however, and you sense they can regain their form sooner rather than later. Can they do so in Tuesday’s game? I don’t think so. Portugal may well be without Bernardo Silva and could also rest some other key players, but they have showed how capable they are at getting results without their first eleven on show and they can do so again in Guimaraes against a Poland team who have not won any of their last five matches.

Selection: Portugal 6/10 @ Coral