Portugal will host Luxembourg in the UEFA Euro 2024 Qualifiers on Monday night, hoping to pick up a comprehensive victory at home.
Portugal, who face Luxembourg up next, are in impressive form right now. And they have made it five wins from five matches when they beat Slovakia last week. Roberto Martinez’s men will look to pick up a similar result against Luxembourg, and they will be the firm favourites heading into this context.
Meanwhile, the visitors are in impressive form as well, and they will look to upset the odds here. Luxembourg have picked up three wins on the bounce, and it remains to be seen whether they can cause problems for the home side.
The last time these two sides met back in March, Portugal picked up a 6-0 win. And they will look to pull off another comfortable win tomorrow. The Hard Tackle takes a closer look at the encounter ahead of the latest meeting between the two sides.
Team News and Tactics
Portugal
Roberto Martinez will be without his talisman forward Cristiano Ronaldo, who is suspended for Monday’s clash against Luxembourg following his booking against Slovakia.
Cristiano Ronaldo picked up a yellow for this tackle on Martin Dúbravka.
It means he misses Portugal’s next Euro 2024 qualifier vs. Luxembourg, who he’s scored 11 goals against in 11 matches 😬 pic.twitter.com/T50h2HZfqW
— B/R Football (@brfootball) September 8, 2023
Portugal are expected to start in a 4-3-3 formation, with Diogo Costa in goal. Diogo Dalot and Joao Cancelo are likely to be deployed as the full-backs, and they will look to contribute offensively as well.
Antonio Silva will start alongside Ruben Dias at the heart of the defence. In the midfield, Joao Palhinha will be the defensive midfielder, and he will look to break up the opposition attacks. Bruno Fernandes and Vitinha will add creativity and drive to the side. Finally, Goncalo Ramos will lead the line in the absence of Ronaldo, with Bernardo Silva and Rafael Leao on either side of him.
Probable Lineup (4-3-3): Costa; Dalot, Silva, Dias, Cancelo; Vitinha, Palhinha, Fernandes; Silva, Ramos, Leao
Luxembourg
The visitors do not have any injury or suspension issues heading into this game, and they should be able to field a full-strength lineup. Luxembourg are likely to shape up in a 4-5-1 formation, with Anthony Moris in goal.
Marvin Martins and Michael Pinto will be the full-backs, and they will look to contain the Portugal wingers and protect the central defenders. Enes Mahmutovic should start alongside Maxime Chanot at the heart of the defence.
Dejvid Sinani and Yvandro Sanches will be deployed as the wingers, and they will look to create counter-attacking opportunities for the visitors. In the midfield three, Leandro Barreiro will start alongside Christopher Martins and Mathias Olesen. Finally, Alessio Curci will lead the line for the away side.
Probable Lineup (4-5-1): Moris; Martins, Mahmutovic, Chanot, Pinto; Sinani, Barreiro, Martins, Olesen, Sanches; Curci
Key Stats
- Portugal have won their last 13 matches against Luxembourg in all competitions.
- Portugal have scored at least two goals in their last 13 matches against Luxembourg in all competitions.
- Portugal have been winning at both half-time and full-time in their last six home matches against Luxembourg in all competitions.
- Luxembourg have failed to score in five of their last six meetings against Portugal.
Player to Watch
Rafael Leao
🔥 Rafael Leao's rankings in Serie A this season:
🤤 Successful dribbles – 10 🥇
💪 Ground duels won – 21 🥇
🦶 Touches in opposition box – 28 🥇
⭐ POTM awards – 2 🥇
🌡 Rating – 8.08 🥉 pic.twitter.com/y5KN5vs95F— WhoScored.com (@WhoScored) September 8, 2023
The 24-year-old will look to create goalscoring opportunities for his teammates with his flair, pace and link-up play. He managed to put in outstanding performances for AC Milan in his last two outings and will look to translate that form onto the international level.
Leao has the physicality and technical attributes to trouble the Luxembourg defence and carve out goalscoring opportunities. The AC Milan talisman is our key man to watch out for, and he will look to add to his tally on Monday.
Prediction
Portugal 3-0 Luxembourg
Portugal are far better on paper, and they should be able to grind out all three points here. They are full of confidence and momentum heading into this game after a series of impressive performances in the Euro 2024 Qualifiers.
Meanwhile, Luxembourg were comprehensively beaten by Portugal in the last meeting, and they are unlikely to be able to trouble the home side here either despite their recent run of form. Although they are no longer pushovers, the gulf in class between the two sides is massive and a hard-fought 3-0 home win is on the cards.
