Portugal will aim to extend their winning start to UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying when they welcome Bosnia-Herzegovina to Lisbon’s Estadio da Luz on Saturday.
After two matches, Roberto Martinez’s side find themselves atop Group J – two points clear of second-placed Slovakia – with a goal difference of +10.
🔥📸 A Seleção está de volta à ação! ⚽️💥 #VesteABandeira pic.twitter.com/nPv54ppuIk— Portugal (@selecaoportugal) June 13, 2023
🔥📸 A Seleção está de volta à ação! ⚽️💥 #VesteABandeira pic.twitter.com/nPv54ppuIk
As for Bosnia-Herzegovina, they occupy third place in the standings, with Iceland, Luxembourg and Liechtenstein below.
Portugal kicked off their qualifying campaign with a 4-0 victory over Liechtenstein, with Cristiano Ronaldo bagging a brace as the hosts racked up 83% possession and 35 shots.
Last time out, Portugal thrashed Luxembourg 6-0, courtesy of another Ronaldo double. There were also goals for Joao Felix, Bernardo Silva, Otavio and Rafael Leao.
Those victories in March extended Portugal’s unbeaten streak in home European Championship qualifiers to eight matches.
They also mean that Martinez’s men have won nine of their previous 13 games across all competitions, although they lost to South Korea and Morocco at the World Cup.
On the flip side, Bosnia-Herzegovina began life in Group J with a comfortable 3-0 victory over Iceland, thanks largely to a brace from Rade Krunic.
However, the Dragons lost their second match 2-0 in Slovakia, with the visitors managing a solitary attempt on target last time out.
It is worth noting that Bosnia-Herzegovina have only managed to win one of their previous 11 away encounters across all competitions.
That said, the Dragons have lost just two of their past nine games, picking up five wins and two draws to keep future opponents on their toes.
Head-to-head: When Portugal last met Bosnia-Herzegovina back in 2011, Cristiano Ronaldo scored twice as the Portuguese thrashed the Dragons 6-2.
Portugal have won three and drawn one of their four previous meetings with Bosnia-Herzegovina, scoring a total of eight goals while keeping three clean sheets.
Team news: Portugal could hand an international debut to uncapped Wolves defender Toti. Meanwhile, Ronaldo could earn his 199th cap as he searches for his 123rd international goal.
Bosnia-Herzegovina's squad features household names such as Sead Kolasinac, Miralem Pjanic and Edin Dzeko, with the latter playing in last weekend’s Champions League final.
If the previous meetings between these two sides are anything to go by, Portugal should make light work of Bosnia-Herzegovina.
With that in mind, Forebet predicts that Portugal will score over 3.5 goals on their way to dispatching Bosnia-Herzegovina.