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Portugal national football team
Nations League | League A
Oct 14, 2020 at 7.45pm UK
 
Sweden national football team

Portugal
3 - 0
Sweden

Silva (21'), Jota (44', 72')
Jota (52'), Fernandes (85')
FT(HT: 2-0)

Ekdal (36'), Olsson (57'), Jansson (62'), Andersson (72'), Berg (79')

Preview: Portugal vs. Sweden - prediction, team news, lineups

Sports Mole previews Wednesday's UEFA Nations League clash between Portugal and Sweden, including team news and predicted lineups.

Portugal and Sweden will both be looking to pick up all three points for different reasons in the UEFA Nations League when the two countries lock horns in Wednesday's Group A3 clash.

The reigning champions played out a goalless stalemate with France at the weekend, while Sweden fell to a 2-1 defeat to Croatia on Sunday evening.


Match preview

France's Paul Pogba in action with Portugal's Danilo Pereira in the Nations League on October 11, 2020© Reuters

Portugal's defence of their Nations League crown continued with a 0-0 draw against fellow European heavyweights France on Sunday evening, with the reigning European champions still level on points with the current World Cup holders following that stalemate.

Fernando Santos has now witnessed his side share the spoils in a goalless draw twice in a row following their friendly bout with Spain last week, and Portugal have a serious fight on their hands if they are to secure qualification for the Nations League finals and retain their crown.

However, Portugal's recent record speaks for itself - the reigning Nations League and European champions have only tasted defeat in one of their last 20 matches in all competitions - a 2-1 defeat to Ukraine in the Euro 2020 qualifiers.

With France set to take on Croatia in a repeat of the 2018 World Cup final on the same evening, Santos will be hoping that the Chequered Ones can successfully seek revenge against Didier Deschamps's men and pick up all three points on Wednesday, which would see Portugal open up a three-point gap at the top of Group A3 should they prevail over Sweden.

Sweden manager Janne Andersson on November 13, 2017© Reuters

Portugal will no doubt be feeling optimistic about their chances of victory in this encounter, with Sweden yet to get off the mark in the 2020-21 Nations League following three defeats from three.

Janne Andersson's men were always expected to struggle in a group with the European champions, World Cup holders and World Cup runners-up, and Sweden are very much at risk of a swift return to League B with three group stage matches remaining.

The Nordic nation had already lost to France and Portugal in the month of September, and Andersson's side are still awaiting their first point in the group after succumbing to a 2-1 defeat to Croatia on Sunday, with Nikola Vlasic and Andrej Kramaric netting either side of a Marcus Berg equaliser.

Sweden have only come out on top in one of their last 11 meetings with Portugal across all competitions, with the Nordic nation last beating the European champions 3-2 in a 2017 friendly.

Portugal Nations League form: WWD
Portugal form (all competitions): WWWWDD

Sweden Nations League form: LLL
Sweden form (all competitions): WWLLWL


Team News

Cristiano Ronaldo pictured for Juventus in September 2020© Reuters

Portugal were rocked by the news that Cristiano Ronaldo had tested positive for coronavirus, and the Juventus man is set to be replaced on the left-hand side by Liverpool's Diogo Jota, with all other players returning negative tests since the news broke.

Wolverhampton Wanderers goalkeeper Rui Patricio is set to earn his 90th cap for the national team after Lyon's Anthony Lopes withdrew after testing positive for coronavirus.

Santos is expected to name another strong lineup amid a congested fixture schedule, but Premier League duo Joao Cancelo and Joao Moutinho are options for change should the Portugal manager look to freshen things up.

As far as Sweden are concerned, Ludwig Augustinsson has left the camp to rejoin Werder Bremen in preparation for the Bundesliga's resumption, while fellow defender Filip Helander is back at Rangers following an injury.

The visitors have also revealed that an unnamed goalkeeper in the squad has picked up a minor problem, and while none of the current three shot-stoppers has pulled out, Isak Pettersson has come in as a fourth option.

Portugal possible starting lineup:
Patricio; Cancelo, Pepe, Dias, Guerreiro; Pereira, Moutinho, Fernandes; B. Silva, Felix, Jota

Sweden possible starting lineup:
Olsen; Krafth, Lindelof, Jansson, M. Olsson; Kulusevski, Ekdal, K. Olsson, Forsberg; Isak, Berg


SM words green background

We say: Portugal 3-1 Sweden

Portugal and Sweden have endured contrasting starts to their Nations League campaigns and we can only see one clear winner in this match. The reigning Nations League champions will be determined to get back to winning ways against a Sweden side who are on a three-game losing streak in the competition, and even without the presence of the illustrious Ronaldo, we are backing the hosts to prevail in convincing fashion.


Top betting tip

Our expert tipster partners at Sporita.com are predicting under 3.5 goals in this match. Click here to find out what else they are predicting for this game and for more of their tried-and-tested football tips.Under 3.5:data


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Written by
Ben Knapton

Data Analysis

Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Portugal win with a probability of 55.94%. A draw had a probability of 23.7% and a win for Sweden had a probability of 20.39%.

The most likely scoreline for a Portugal win was 1-0 with a probability of 11.94%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-0 (10.33%) and 2-1 (9.75%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (11.25%), while for a Sweden win it was 0-1 (6.5%). The actual scoreline of 3-0 was predicted with a 6% likelihood. Our data analysis correctly predicted that Portugal would win this match.


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Game History

Who will win Wednesday's Nations League clash between Portugal and Sweden?

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Draw
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Sweden
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France's Paul Pogba in action with Portugal's Danilo Pereira in the Nations League on October 11, 2020
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UEFA Nations League roundup: France and Portugal goalless, Croatia beat Sweden
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League A1

TeamPWDLPTS
Q Portugal Portugal642014
Q Croatia Croatia62228
3 Scotland flag Scotland62137
4 Poland Poland61144

League A2

TeamPWDLPTS
Q France France641113
Q Italy Italy641113
3 Belgium Belgium61144
4 Israel Israel61144

League A3

TeamPWDLPTS
Q Germany Germany642014
Q Netherlands Netherlands62319
3 Hungary Hungary61326
4 Bosnia Bosnia H'vina60242

League A4

TeamPWDLPTS
Q Spain Spain651016
Q Denmark Denmark62228
3 Serbia Serbia61326
4 Switzerland Switzerland60242

League B1

TeamPWDLPTS
Q Czech Republic Czech Republic632111
2 Ukraine Ukraine62228
3 Georgia Georgia62137
4 Albania national flag Albania62137

League B2

TeamPWDLPTS
Q England flag England650115
2 Greece Greece650115
3 Ireland Rep. Ireland62046
4 Finland Finland60060

League B3

TeamPWDLPTS
Q Norway Norway641113
2 Austria Austria632111
3 Slovenia Slovenia62228
4 Kazakhstan Kazakhstan60151

League B4

TeamPWDLPTS
Q Wales flag Wales633012
2 Turkey Turkey632111
3 Iceland Iceland62137
4 Montenegro Montenegro61053

League C1

TeamPWDLPTS
Q Sweden Sweden651016
2 Slovakia Slovakia641113
3 Estonia Estonia61144
4 Azerbaijan Azerbaijan60151

League C2

TeamPWDLPTS
Q Romania Romania550015
2 Kosovo flag Kosovo540112
3 Cyprus Cyprus62046
4 Lithuania Lithuania60060

League C3

TeamPWDLPTS
Q Northern Ireland flag N. Ireland632111
2 Bulgaria Bulgaria62319
3 Belarus Belarus61417
4 Luxembourg flag Luxembourg60333

League C4

TeamPWDLPTS
Q Macedonia N. Macedonia651016
2 Armenia Armenia62137
3 Faroe Islands Faroe Islands61326
4 Latvia Latvia61144

League D1

TeamPWDLPTS
Q San Marino flag San Marino42117
2 Gibraltar flag Gibraltar41306
3 Liechtenstein flag Liechtenstein40222

League D2

TeamPWDLPTS
Q Republic of Moldova Moldova43019
2 Malta flag Malta42117
3 Andorra flag Andorra40131


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