Portugal vs Slovakia starting prediction: Manchester City iron defender sits, B Fei leads the attack, Cristiano Ronaldo partners the two wingers
At 02:45 a.m. Beijing time on October 14, the seventh round of Group J of the European Cup qualifiers will be a high-profile battle, with superstar Cristiano Ronaldo's Portugal hosting a strong Slovak team.
In the first six rounds of group games, Portugal was invincible and unstoppable, winning 6 games and accumulating 18 points, and smashing 24 goals without conceding a single goal, playing absolute dominance in this group. The overall performance of the rivals Slovakia is not bad, after the first six rounds, they have 4 wins, 1 draw and 1 defeat with 13 points, just behind Portugal in the second place in the group.
In terms of overall strength, Portugal naturally crushes Slovakia. The data shows that in the last five meetings between the two teams, Portugal has won 4 and drawn 1, without tasting defeat, and has an absolute psychological advantage. Therefore, as long as Portugal can play at a normal level, they should have a good chance of winning against Slovakia. Here's a quick look at Portugal's likely starting line-up.
In the goalkeeper position, it is natural that the main goalkeeper Diogo Costa is guarding the Portuguese goal; At the back, according to past practice, it is expected that Portugal manager Martinez will continue to play a more stable four-back formation, and the four defenders who are likely to start will be Joao Cancelo, Ruben Dias, Danilo Pereira and Manchester United flying wing Dalot. Among them, Manchester City iron defenders Ruben Dias and Danilo Pereira will play as a double central defender combination, while Joao Cancelo and Dalot will play as full-backs with one left and one right.
In terms of midfield, there is no doubt that the main backer responsible for intercepting tackles in the Portuguese midfield will be the Paris midfielder Vitinha; The duo with Vitinha should be Ruben Neves. In front of the double back, Manchester United front-line commander Bruno Fernandes is expected to continue to be reused, sit in the front and dominate Portugal's attacking line up front.
On the forward line, it is no surprise that the top charge for Portugal in the front court is naturally the superstar Cristiano Ronaldo; The front trident should be paired with Cristiano Ronaldo and Barca winger Joao Felix. B-seat, Diogo Jota and others are on the bench.
Based on the above analysis, the final expected starting lineup for Portugal against Slovakia is: Diogo Costa; Cancelo, Rubén Dias, Danilo Pereira, Dalot; Vitinha, Rubén-Neves, Bruno Fernandez; Rafael Leo, Joao Felix, Ronaldo