Portugal vs Slovenia Prediction: Expect goals in last 16 clash
Portugal are in last 16 action against Slovenia at Euro 2024 as they travel to Frankfurt on Monday night. Roberto Martinez made a raft of changes for the final group game, and it backfired as they lost 2-0 to Georgia in a shock defeat. However, the big guns will come back in for this game, and they are big favourites to beat Slovenia, who qualified from Group C with three draws.
Below you can find my Portugal vs Slovenia prediction featuring betting tips and team news.
Team News
Portugal will revert back to the team that won the first two games of this tournament, with only Diogo Costa and Cristiano Ronaldo starting all three group games. Expect Joao Cancelo, Bernardo Silva and Vitinha all to come back in, with Rafael Leao, Diogo Jota and Francisco Conceicao battling it out for a spot on the left wing.
Slovenia will likely set up in their reliable 4-4-2 system, with Andraz Sporar and Benjamin Sesko set to lead the line. Neither of them have found the net so far, but it hasn’t been through a lack of effort, with the pair amassing 12 shots between them. Jan Oblak will continue in goal, while Erik Janza is suspended for this one, and Jure Balkovec looks to be the most likely replacement.
Portugal predicted starting XI:
Costa; Cancelo, Pepe, Dias, Mendes; Vitinha, Palhinha, Fernandes; B. Silva, Ronaldo, Leao
Slovenia predicted starting XI:
Oblak; Karnicnik, Drkusic, Bijol, Balkovec; Stojanovic, Elsnik, Gnezda Cerin, Mlakar; Sporar, Sesko
Portugal are priced at 17/50 to win this game, with Slovenia to outsiders at 44/5 to win in 90 minutes. Meanwhile, a draw can be backed at 4/1, over 2.5 goals is 81/100 and BTTS is 47/37.
Over 2.5 goals @ 81/100
This game should be a decent watch. Portugal have all the attacking talent in the world and will likely pepper Slovenia’s goal, but despite playing a low block, Matjaz Kek’s side have scored in twice so far. They only failed to score against England when a point was enough to take them through, so expect them to pose some attacking threat during this game.
Meanwhile, Portugal should be back to their best with the reintroduction of their stars. There’s still some questions around Ronaldo’s place in this team, but he is going nowhere, and I think he can come alive in the knockout stages. More on that down below, but with Bruno Fernandes, Bernardo Silva and Rafael Leao, this squad should have enough to enjoy a profitable evening against Slovenia.
Cristiano Ronaldo to score first @ 13/5
I’ll back the main man to find the net first in this one. Ronaldo has been a decent link player for Portugal so far, but what he is really craving is a goal. He’s now touching 40 years old, but his goalscoring ability and movement in the box hasn’t deserted him just yet. In fact, this Portugal side suits him more than previous generations, as there is so much attacking quality around him.
All Ronaldo has to do is stand in the box and score goals. I think he could give Slovenia issues in the air, and wouldn’t be surprised if he scored a towering header. He’s also Portugal’s penalty taker, and I think he will start the knockout stages in style.
Check out our other Soccer Betting Predictions here.
