Portugal VS Ukraine Match Prediction
2019-03-22
19:45:00
Portugal
VS
Ukraine
Our Prediction Tip
Portugal will win this match.
2019-03-2219:45:00 Portugal will win this match.
This will be the first time Portugal and Ukraine have faced each other since World Cup 1998 qualifying – their only previous meetings. Those matches in 1996 saw Ukraine win 2-1 at home but Portugal won 1-0 in the reverse fixture.
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Portugal showed defensive solidity to top their UEFA Nations League group ahead of Poland and Italy and earn a spot in the finals next summer.
Now they have been able to bolster their attack with the return of Cristiano Ronaldo to the international fold – which comes as he continues to dominate the headlines at club level.
Ronaldo’s hat-trick against Atletico Madrid proves he is bang in form and the Portuguese superstar will join a front three which is also likely to boast the in-form Silvas, Andre and Bernardo.
Providing creativity behind them will be Ruben Neves, who could partner Wolves team-mate Joao Moutinho and continue what has been a superb partnership there this season.
For Ukraine, they are without Andriy Yarmolenko but were also in good form in the UEFA Nations League – however their defeat to Slovakia in their dead rubber highlights the lack of depth in their squad.
Oleksandr Zinchenko has impressed for Manchester City this season and will return to his more natural midfield spot for Ukraine, while Yevgeni Konoplyanka’s goalscoring record speaks for itself.
However, they still look vulnerable at the back against the best attacking teams – and Portugal are very much in that bracket.
As defending European champions, Portugal will want to start their qualifying campaign with a bang and they are fully capable of doing exactly that.
Portugal are big favourites to beat Ukraine but you can still back them at a generous 2/5 with Bet365, Ladbrokes, Betway and 10Bet.
After keeping clean sheets home and away against Italy, to top their UEFA Nations League group, they are evens with Bet365 and Ladbrokes to win to nil, meanwhile.
At the other end, Cristiano Ronaldo joins an attack that is already in good form with Andre Silva netting three times against Poland and Italy and Bernardo Silva in outstanding form for Manchester City.
Ronaldo is a best price of 4/5 with Betfair and Paddy Power to score at any time, while you can back Andre Silva at 6/4 with Betway.
Portugal have recalled their star player in Cristiano Ronaldo and his return is only going to strengthen a side that was already in great form.
Cristiano Ronaldo’s return to the Portugal squad for the first time since the World Cup was the headline selection in Fernando Santos’ squad. Eder and Renato Sanches are among the players to miss out, along with Andre Gomes, while Bruno Fernandes has withdrawn through injury. Diogo Jota could be in line for a Portugal debut, however, after his good performances for Wolves this season.
Cristiano Ronaldo – His hat-trick against Atletico Madrid saw Juventus reach the Champions League last eight and his return to the national fold will only strengthen Portugal.
Bernardo Silva – An integral part of Manchester City’s performances this season which sees them still competing for an unprecedented quadruple.
Andre Silva – Three goals in four UEFA Nations League matches helped the Portuguese reach the finals and takes him to 15 goals from 31 caps in total.
After winning both of the reverse fixtures in September and October respectively, Portugal drew with both Italy and Poland in November to seal top spot in their UEFA Nations League group. Andre Silva scored the winner against Italy in September and the two nations shared a goalless draw in Milan. Silva then scored Portugal’s goal in a 1-1 draw with Poland.
Bohdan Butko, Serhiy Sydorchuk and Artem Kravets have all returned to the Ukraine squad to face Portugal. Andriy Yarmolenko is their most notable absentee as he continues to suffer with the injury which has ruled him out for West Ham for much of the season, while Roman Zozulya has had to make do with a place on the standby list only.
Ruslan Malinovskyi – Scored his first two international goals in October, to earn a friendly draw with Italy and a home win against the Czech Republic too.
Yevgeni Konoplyanka – His consolation goal against Slovakia was the Schalke man’s 19th goal from 77 international appearances.
Oleksandr Zinchenko – Has attracted plaudits for his performances for Manchester City in recent weeks, having continued to fill in at left wing-back.
Ukraine won 1-0 at home to both Slovakia and Czech Republic (after also beating the latter away) to top their UEFA Nations League but they suffered a 4-1 defeat to the former in their final group game – Yevgeni Konoplyanka scoring their goal. A goalless friendly draw with Turkey followed, meaning they are without a win in their last two matches, having been unbeaten in nine before that.
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