Portugal will be hoping to extend their unbeaten record in Group A when they travel to Aviva Stadium to face Ireland in World Cup qualifying on Thursday.
Fernando Santos’ side find themselves second in Group A – one point behind first-place Serbia – with only two games remaining.
🔙 O nosso último jogo na Qualificação para o Mundial! Estamos 𝙌𝙐𝘼𝙎𝙀 de volta! 🇮🇪✖🇵🇹🗓 11/11 às 19h45🇵🇹✖🇷🇸🗓 14/11 às 19h45#VamosComTudo #TeamPortugal pic.twitter.com/gZ1edglVLu— Portugal (@selecaoportugal) November 6, 2021
🔙 O nosso último jogo na Qualificação para o Mundial! Estamos 𝙌𝙐𝘼𝙎𝙀 de volta! 🇮🇪✖🇵🇹🗓 11/11 às 19h45🇵🇹✖🇷🇸🗓 14/11 às 19h45#VamosComTudo #TeamPortugal pic.twitter.com/gZ1edglVLu
Meanwhile, Ireland are down in fourth place – 11 points shy of Portugal – having won just one of their six World Cup qualifiers.
Following two draws and three losses, the Boys in Green finally picked up their first WCQ victory of the campaign last month.
Despite seeing only 36% possession, they beat Azerbaijan 3-0 in Baku at the start of October, with Callum Robinson bagging a brace.
Robinson then netted a hat-trick in Ireland’s 4-0 friendly win over Qatar. Stephen Kenny’s men enjoyed 63% of the ball and didn’t let Qatar record a single shot on target.
Including friendlies, Ireland have lost just one of their last eight games across in all competitions – picking up three wins and four draws in the process.
They head into Thursday’s clash on a four-match unbeaten streak, having secured two wins and two draws since their last loss.
On the flip side, Portugal have yet to lose a World Cup qualifier this campaign – sealing five wins and a draw along the way.
The 2016 European Championship winners head into Thursday’s clash on a five-match winning streak in all competitions.
Not only have Santos’ side netted 16 goals across their past five games (3.2 goals per game), but they have also kept three straight clean sheets.
Even at the ripe old age of 36, Cristiano Ronaldo is still scoring goals at a frightening rate. In fact, the Manchester United star has bagged 13 goals in 12 international outings in 2021.
Head-to-head: Portugal beat Ireland 2-1 in the reverse fixture back in September, thanks to a late Ronaldo brace.
Ireland have only managed to win one of their previous seven meetings with Portugal, registering two draws and four losses in that time.
Team news: Ireland’s captain Seamus Coleman returns to international duty following an injury, while Jayson Molumby and Alan Browne are back in contention.
Meanwhile, Atletico Madrid’s Joao Felix and Lille’s Renato Sanches have been recalled to Portugal’s 26-man squad.
Although Ireland pushed Portugal all the way in the reverse fixture, Kenny’s men aren’t expected to cause Ronaldo and co. too many problems this time around.
For that reason, Forebet predicts that Portugal will keep a clean sheet on their way to victory on Thursday.