After going undefeated in four games, Portugal qualified for the Nations League finals this summer, mainly at the expense of Italy who finished in behind them. That was a bit of a surprise really, although they did show glimpses of real promise in the World Cup last summer. Now their task is a simple one, to prove that their performances in the Nations League were not a fluke, and that they can compete with the best in Europe.

To do that, they have to qualify for the Euro 2020 Championships, and the road to that tournament begins now. Due to their participation in the Nations League, Portugal have been drawn out in a group of five for the qualifying stages, to allow them time off in June to compete in the final which they will host.

This isn’t a straight forward task for Portugal by any means, although it is far to say they are the best of the five teams in the group. Ukraine and Serbia will be their main dangers, and they start off with a game against Ukraine at home on Friday. Lithuania and Luxembourg round things off and the Portuguese should have no trouble beating those two both home and away as they are set to battle it out at the bottom to see who will finish with the wooden spoon.

The makeup of this group is a really interesting one, and I can see us having some good games between these teams. Two will qualify for the finals next summer, and that is going to leave one disappointed team behind, as all three of the top clubs will genuinely fancy their chances here.

Portugal are the best in the group, and for them to fall out and not qualify would need them to perform well below par. While the trips to Ukraine and Serbia will not be easy, at home Portugal will be strongly fancied to beat all of their opponents. It is expected they will do that, and pick up enough points away from home to win the group.

Behind them it gets really interesting. Both Ukraine and Serbia will think they are in a position to qualify alongside Portugal from this group. If you take the seedings from the Nations League, then Ukraine are better than Serbia, although there is not much in it, and both performed well in that competition. Ukraine were able to top their group in division B to give themselves a place in division A when the tournament returns. They got the better of the Czech Republic and Slovakia in that group, two teams who set an ok standard.

Serbia were actually put in division C to begin with, which was a surprise really. What wasn’t a surprise was how they went through the group, winning four and drawing two of the six games they played to go unbeaten. They will now move up to division B which looks to be more in line with their ability, and should provide a tougher test for them.

These two are going to have a great tussle in this group, and both are capable of shocking Portugal so don’t be surprised to see them dragged into it, instead of just running away with things. That should set us up with an exciting set of games, and this is certainly one of the groups you should be keeping an eye on.

Portugal vs Ukraine Betting Tips

While Ukraine may fancy their chances at home against Portugal, away that is very different. Portugal are the best team in this group, and they will be looking to win all of their home games to put them in a great qualifying position. That is exactly what I think they will do, starting with this one on Friday night.

I think there is the potential for Portugal to win this game pretty comfortably, and when you compare the odds on offer, the value is certainly on the handicap line. This will be the toughest competitive game that Ukraine have faced in a while, and Portugal will want to get off to a good start and show the others in this group that they are going to control it.

With this in mind, I think Portugal are going to be too strong for Ukraine here, and I am backing them to win. I am going to use the -1 handicap line, which adds some real value to this bet and offers us a very good price on the win. Portugal should have too much in the tank here, and I am backing them to get off to a comfortable winning start.

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