Portugal vs Croatia Prediction & Betting Tips - UEFA Nations League

Prediction published on 02/09/2020, 05:35  by James | Modified on 02/09/2020 at 06:35 in UEFA Nations League Predictions

Portugal will begin the defense of their UEFA Nations League crown when they host Croatia in a League A game at the Estadio Do Dragao on Saturday. Portugal, who are also the reigning European Championship holders, beat Holland 1-0 in the final of last season's competition to become the champions of the inaugural tournament. Croatia were also in League A but finished bottom of a group containing England and Spain. They failed to win three of their four matches in what was a disappointing follow-up to their enchanting run to the 2018 World Cup final, where they were defeated by France. Croatia were set to be relegated to League B before a revamp by UEFA reversed any relegation that was set to take place. They have the chance to make the most of that reversal by upsetting a strong Portugal squad. However, the odds are stacked against them and there's good reason for that as they will be missing key players like Luka Modric and Ivan Rakitic. Portugal, meanwhile, have the vast majority of their star players, including Cristiano Ronaldo and a Bruno Fernandes coming off the back of a breakthrough season with Sporting and Man United.

Portugal have never lost to Croatia, winning four of their five matches. However, it should be noted that one of those wins came after extra-time so the last two games have been level at the end of normal time. Portugal have enjoyed a prosperous few years under the guidance of Fernando Santos, losing only three of their last 32 matches in all competitions. They have won seven of their last eight matches in all competitions. At home, they are unbeaten in 13 matches and have won the last four of those games. Croatia were exhausted by the time they reached the World Cup final in 2018, having played a succession of matches that required extra-time on their route there. It felt as though they took a long time to recover from that effort, losing four of their next ten matches, including a humiliating 6-0 defeat to Spain. Away from home, they have failed to win six of their last seven games. Back Portugal.