Republic of Ireland face an almost must-win trip to Portugal on Saturday if they are to keep their slim World Cup qualifying hopes alive.
The Republic of Ireland may have not given up hope of progressing to next year’s World Cup despite an underwhelming start to their qualifying campaign, but they face a dreaded trip to a star-studded Portugal on Saturday evening.
A draw with Hungary followed by defeat in Armenia already has Ireland playing catch up in Group F of qualifying and that doesn’t bode well with a visit to Portugal next up for the Boys in Green.
With each nation in the section playing just six games, Ireland’s prospects of travelling to the finals in North America already look slim following one point from two outings and Portugal have made a confident start to proceedings.
Roberto Martinez’s men won 5-0 in Armenia before a thrilling 3-2 victory in Hungary and their array of attacking options will be believing that they can make it a perfect three from three at the Estadio Jose Alvalade.
Ahead of this crunch clash in Lisbon, we have picked out a bet builder which pays out at 6/1.
Portugal vs Republic of Ireland Bet Builder Tips
- Over 3.5 goals @ 5/4
- Cristiano Ronaldo to score 2+ goals @ 11/5
- Portugal 8+ shots on target @ 1/1
- Joao Felix to have a shot on target @ 2/7
Pays out at 6/1
Portugal should continue on the front foot
Portugal’s attacking depth means they rarely rest on their laurels and that has been evident in their recent fixtures, with a 5-0 qualifying win away at Armenia followed by a 3-2 success in Hungary.
Martinez will rightly back his side to outscore the opposition and this also feels like a must-win for Ireland if they are to keep their hopes of qualifying for the World Cup alive.
Portugal have won four of their last five, the only exception being in the Nations League final against Spain when they drew 2-2 before prevailing on penalties in June, and those fixtures have featured a total of 22 goals.
With both teams scoring in five of Ireland’s last six, Heimir Hallgrímsson will be optimistic that his underdogs can cause problems of their own on the counter-attack.
Leg 1: Over 3.5 goals @ 5/4
Evergreen Ronaldo to lead by example
Age is just a number for 40-year-old Cristiano Ronaldo, who continues to rack up the goals for Portugal, with him failing to score in only two of his last 11 international appearances.
Ronaldo has three goals in two World Cup qualifiers and another brace could follow against Ireland, who saw him on target twice in a 3-0 friendly defeat between the sides last June.
Leg 2: Cristiano Ronaldo to score 2+ goals @ 11/5
Ireland shot-stopper could face an onslaught
Portugal are likely to dictate the tempo of this fixture and it could be a busy evening for Ireland shot-stopper Caoimhin Kelleher.
The Selecao had nine shots on target when entertaining Ireland in a friendly last year and they have racked up 16 efforts on goal in claiming their opening two qualifying scalps of Armenia and Hungary.
Leg 3: Portugal 8+ shots on target @ 1/1
Resurgent Felix hoping to get in on the act
Joao Felix has been reinvigorated by a move to Saudi side Al-Nassr, where he has linked-up with Ronaldo, and he has four goals and three assists across his last four appearances.
The 25-year-old opened the scoring in September’s 5-0 win in Armenia, before adding a second on the hour-mark, and he can show his quality with at least one shot on target.
Leg 4: Joao Felix to have a shot on target @ 2/7
