Portugal gets to face off with Switzerland in the semifinals of the UNL. The venue is the Estadio do Dragao. Portugal topped their group ahead of the likes of Italy as well as Poland. Coming off a draw against Serbia during the qualifiers to seal their place in the semi-final against Switzerland.
Portugal Team News
As current European champions, this team is not really at their very best with four draws in their last four games. The possibility of getting a win at home is very high but with the current situation of the team coupled with the Switzerland attacking quality, count on both teams to score.
We expect Jose Fonte to pair up alongside Pepe in a rather porous defense that has kept only 3 clean sheets in ten games. Expect to see Cristiano Ronaldo captain the side and power the attack with the help of Goncalo Guedes together with the in-form Bernardo Silva.
Switzerland Team News
Also topping their group, Switzerland gets off a draw at home to Denmark in the qualifiers to land a spot in the semis. They remain unbeaten in 4/5 games with defensive problems seeing them concede 9 goals during that period. While they remain underdogs for a win, the Portuguese charge being led by Cristiano Ronaldo may prove too much for them to handle.
The Swiss striker, Haris Seferovic has needed 4 goals in his past 5 games with impressive performances from Xhaka as well as Champions League winner, Xherdan Shaqiri. The trio is expected to put in strong performances. Vladimir Petkovic will be hoping to hurt the Portuguese side.
Head to Head
Both teams have met 12 times with four wins for each side and four draws. Their 2018 world cup qualifier meetings ended in one win apiece.
What to expect
Ronaldo is expected to be the star of the show for Portugal after a fine performance for the just-concluded season with Juventus. Bernardo and Guedes will provide the needed assistance to put the Swiss team on the back foot.
Meanwhile, with the impressive Seferovic and Shaqiri leading the Swiss attack line, the Portuguese defense should expect some significant problems to deal with.
With both sides boasting good attacking quality, expect that both teams will score and the possibility of a draw is very high In what is set to be a fierce face-off.
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