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Portugal must be high on confidence after winning the inaugural edition of the UEFA Nations League. However, as far as UEFA Euro 2020 qualifiers are concerned, they are five points behind the team that is brushing past every single opponent at the moment – Ukraine.
Hence, all eyes will be glued to the screens when Portugal and Ukraine will go head-to-head on Monday (October 14) at the NSC Olimpiyskiy Stadium in Kyiv. Fernando Santos’ Portugal has managed to accumulate eight points over four games so far.
Sitting five points clear, Andriy Shevchenko’s Ukraine would do all it takes to increase their lead to eight points. Ukraine is yet to be beaten in this competition, and wouldn’t want to break their record on Monday.
Let us now have a look at the predicted lineups of both sides:
1. Ukraine
Andriy Shevchenko is expected to dish out a 4-5-1 formation against the mighty Portuguese unit. Shakhtar Donetsk’s Andriy Pyatov is expected to be under the goal post for Ukraine. A Ukrainian clean sheet is trading at 3.7 on Bigpesa.
The four-man defence is expected to comprise of Oleksandr Karavayev, Serhiy Kryvtsov, Vitaliy Mykolenko and Mykola Matviyenko. Oleksandr Zinchenko and Viktor Tsyhankov are expected to be the wingbacks.
The midfield is expected to comprise of Taras Stepanenko, Ruslan Malinovskyi and Marlos Romero. Junior Moraes is expected to be the lone man upfront. Ukraine to score over 1.5 goals is trading at 2.95. A 1-1 draw is the most popular score-line and is trading at 6.8. Ukraine to win either half is trading at 2.16.
2. Portugal
Portugal’s head coach Fernando Santos is expected to play out a similar 4-3-3 formation against Ukraine. Rui Patricio is expected to earn his 84th cap on Monday. A clean sheet from the Wolverhampton Wanderers’ goalie is trading at 2.7.
The four-man defence is expected to comprise of Nelson Semedo, Jose Fonte, Ruben Dias and Raphael Guerreiro. William Carvalho, Danilo Pereira and Bruno Fernandes are expected to be positioned in the middle by Santos.
The exciting and perfectly balanced front three is expected to be comprised of Cristiano Ronaldo, Joao Felix and Bernardo Silva. Portugal to score in both halves is trading at 3.25, whereas Portugal to win both halves is trading at 6. Portugal to score over 1.5 goals is trading at 2.11.
Predicted lineups:
Ukraine – Andriy Pyatov, Oleksandr Karavayev, Serhiy Kryvtsov, Vitaliy Mykolenko, Mykola Matviyenko, Oleksandr Zinchenko, Viktor Tsyhankov, Taras Stepanenko, Ruslan Malinovskyi, Marlos Romero, Junior Moraes.
Portugal – Rui Patricio, Nelson Semedo, Jose Fonte, Ruben Dias, Raphael Guerreiro, William Carvalho, Danilo Pereira, Bruno Fernandes, Cristiano Ronaldo, Joao Felix, Bernardo Silva.
Checkout the odds at BigPesa.
