Armenia vs Portugal Tips & Preview - Nations League holders to begin with away win

By Tolu Shotade

3 hours ago

Tolu Shotade 3 hours ago

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Portugal open World Cup qualifying vs Armenia after Nations League success.
Armenia are winless in eight of their last nine matches and have lost three straight at home.
Portugal are unbeaten in nine of their last ten, with Ronaldo leading a strong attack.

Armenia vs Portugal

Fresh from their UEFA Nations League triumph, Portugal begin their campaign in Group F of the World Cup qualifiers with a clash against Armenia.

The visitors will come into this match in high spirits and will be targeting a comfortable victory on Saturday. They should have the upper hand over the hosts, who are out of sorts at the moment.

Armenia News

A clash against the current Nations League champions is a tough start to the qualifying campaign for Armenia, who do not head into this clash in the best form. They are winless in eight of their last nine matches across all competitions, losing six times on this run before playing out a 2-2 friendly draw with Montenegro in their previous fixture.

Despite the difficult task on Saturday, Armenia will be pleased to be kicking things off at home and will target a strong start. However, they have lost their last three home matches, failing to score in all three fixtures.

One of the problems for Armenia is a vulnerable backline, with a 6-1 Nations League defeat to Georgia among their recent results. The last five matches for John van't Schip have produced over 2.5 goals.

Portugal News

Portugal will come into this clash on a high, having won the UEFA Nations League for the second time back in June. They beat Spain on penalties in the final after playing out a 2-2 draw in regulation time.

Roberto Martinez's team have impressed lately and are unbeaten in nine of their last 10 matches across all competitions. They are also unbeaten in six of their last eight away matches, with a 5-1 victory over Poland among their results on this run.

Cristiano Ronaldo remains influential for Portugal and was on target in the Nations League final while also scoring in the last three international matches. He leads a solid attack that has scored in both halves in two of their last three matches, with all three fixtures producing over 2.5 goals.

Head to Head

Portugal have never lost in this fixture, claiming four wins and two draws from six previous matches against Armenia. The most recent meeting was during the Euro 2016 qualifiers, with the visitors picking up a 3-2 away win, with Ronaldo netting a hat-trick.

Verdict

Armenia v Portugal

Portugal are expected to be too strong for Armenia, who have lost their last three home matches. Having earned a win and over 2.5 goals in two of their last three fixtures, the visitors could be set for a similar outcome on Saturday.

Ronaldo has been on target in his last three matches for Portugal and having netted a hat-trick in the last meeting with Armenia, could be backed to maintain his scoring run. The visitors are also expected to score in both halves, having played out a similar pattern in two of their last three matches.

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