Portugal – Saudi Arabia : Preview & Prediction
Portugal and Saudi Arabia meet in the Municipal Stadium of Fontelo in a friendly. This will be the 3rd of the year for Portugal, after the previous disputed against Cyprus and Sweden. In the case of Saudi Arabia, this will be their 3rd friendly of the year, having already faced Cambodia and Slovenia. There is no recent record of direct clashes between the two teams, who have not played any matches in the last 3 years. The last time they faced was on 01-03-2006, in a match that ended with the final result: Portugal (3-0) Saudi Arabia. In this match the home factor could play a decisive role, as Saudi Arabia has shown differences in performance in their games at home and as a visitor.
This is the third friendly of the year of the home team, after previous friendly matches have recorded the following results: Portugal (4-0) Cyprus and Portugal (2-3) Sweden. This is a team that maintains the income when it plays outside its stadium, because in the last 30 games it registers 9 wins, 3 draws and 3 losses as a visitor; against 8 wins, 6 draws and 1 defeat in his stadium. The team arrives at this meeting after a win at home with Switzerland by (2-0). Portugal won 7, drew 1 and lost 2 of their last 10 home games for all competitions. The defense has been in good shape and has only conceded goals in 3 of the last 10 games, and their attack has scored regularly, as they managed to make it 9 out of the last 10 games. This is a team that scores often first: opened the scoring in 13 of their last 15 games, of those 13 reached the range in lead in 10 and managed to maintain the lead until the end of the 90 ‘in 11.
The Portugal national team is having a good time this year, having only suffered two defeats in 2017, and has now come in five consecutive wins. The first of them was for the Confederations Cup, and won the third place in the competition, playing against Mexico. The other four were valid for the World Cup qualifiers, where Portugal finished in the top of Group B, thus ensuring their participation in the World Cup in Russia in 2018. In this victorious sequence by the qualifying tournament, the Portuguese did not concede a goal, thus showing the consistency of the defensive sector. Of the last eighteen games played in their domains, Portugal lost only two. For that duel, coach Fernando Santos preferred to spare Cristiano Ronaldo and goalkeeper Rui Patrício. One of the novelties of the cast is striker Marcos Lopes, who was born in Brazil and today defends Monaco.
The visiting team contests its 3rd friendly of the year. In the previous friendly it registered the following results: Cambodia (2-7) Saudi Arabia and Saudi Arabia (0-0) Slovenia. This is a team affected by the home factor, stronger when played with the support of their fans, since in the last 30 games has recorded 6 wins, 3 draws and 6 losses as a visitor, with a total of 37 goals scored and 23 conceded. Already inside the home, won 10 wins, 2 draws and 3 losses, with a total of 29 goals scored and 11 conceded. The team arrives in this match after a home win with Japan by (1-0). In the last eight matches played in all competitions, Saudi Arabia won 4, drawn 1 and lost 3. Their attack has scored regularly as they have scored goals in 9 of their last 10 matches. In his games as a visitor there is a tendency to have goals, since 8 of his last 8 games finished with More than 1.5 goals and 7 of 8 finished with More than 2.5 goals. In 15 games, he managed to get back on the scoring in 2 of the 4 games in which he suffered the first goal.
Saudi Arabia are making their second appearance after the World Cup qualifiers, with a chance to clinch their third consecutive victory. The Arabs made a good campaign and finished the qualifying tournament in second place in Group B, thus securing the place for the 2018 World Cup after 12 years without playing in the World Cup. His last confrontation for the continental tournament was against Japan, leader of the group, in a very balanced game, that finished with a simple victory of the Arabs by 1×0. However, as a visitor to Saudi Arabia they have lost the last two of their four games in 2017. The coach should keep the team at 4-2-3-1 or at 4-1-4-1, and will not be able to count on the top scorer Al Abid, who is recovering from an injury.
Portugal – Saudi Arabia : Betting Tips
Portugal – Win Odds: 1.25
Both teams to score / YES – Odds: 1.70
Over 2.5 Goals – Odds: 1.70
