Slovakia welcome Portugal to Bratislava on Friday in a clash between UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying Group J’s top two. Roberto Martinez’s Portuguese side have won all four of their games so far while the Falcons are only two points worse off and will be aiming to at least end the 100% run enjoyed by Cristiano Ronaldo and his Selecao teammates. Slovakia are chasing a third straight European Championship outing while Martinez leads Portugal after Euro 2016-winning coach Fernando Santos left for Slovak neighbors Poland.
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Slovakia followed a draw at home to Luxembourg with wins over Bosnia-Herzegovina, Iceland and Liechtenstein while Portugal have seen off Bosnia-Herzegovina, Luxembourg, Liechtenstein and Iceland with 14 goals scored and zero conceded. Ronaldo scored his 123rd international goal on his 200th international appearance in Iceland while only France and Hungary also boast perfect defensive records in qualifying.
Here’s our storylines, how you can watch the match and more:
How to watch and odds
- Date: Friday, September 8 | Time: 2:45 p.m. ET
- Location: Stadion Tehelne Pole — Bratislava, Slovakia
- Live stream: fubo (try for free)
- Odds: Slovakia +650; Draw: +333; Portugal -225
Team news
Slovakia: Paris Saint-Germain defender Milan Skriniar and Newcastle United goalkeeper Martin Dubravka should be fixtures at the back with veteran Juraj Kucka in line for his 100th cap. Stanislav Lobotka should join him although there is no more Marek Hamsik who has since retired. Robert Mak leads Slovakia’s goal threat with David Strelec likely to play a reserve role.
Potential Slovakia XI: Dubravka; Pekarik, Skriniar, Vavro, Hancko; Duda, Lobotka, Kucka; Suslov, Bozenik, Mak.
Portugal: Ronaldo remains evergreen at 38 with the armband and has six goals from four league games with Al-Nassr on top of four assists. Otavio and Ruben Neves also now play in Saudi Arabia while Wolverhampton Wanderers’ Jose Sa and Toti Gomes are uncapped and there is no Matheus Nunes of Manchester City. Raphael Guerreiro, Nuno Mendes and Pepe are out while Rafa Silva and Joao Mario have retired internationally.
Potential Portugal XI: Costa; Pereira, Dias, A. Silva; Cancelo, Palhinha, Fernandes, Dalot; B. Silva, Ronaldo, Leao.
Prediction
This one is likely to be tight and although Portugal will likely extend their winning run at the group summit, their clean sheet record may well end here. A draw would not be a total surprise but the Portuguese should have just about enough to pick up three more points. Pick: Slovakia 1, Portugal 2.
