Portugal

Portugal, 3/1 to beat Germany, were dumped out of the competition at the last-eight stage four years ago and know a defeat in this clash, with tough matches against Holland and Denmark to come, will leave them struggling to make the knockout stage.

They face a much-fancied German outfit (Evens, draw 12/5) in Lviv, with many people tipping a win for Joachim Low’s men to get their tournament challenge off to a positive start and, sadly for Paulo Bento’s side, we see it going the same way.

Germany were written off by some before both the Euros in Austria and Switzerland and the subsequent World Cup in South Africa two years ago but proved once again just how good a tournament side they are by only losing to eventual winners Spain in both competitions.

This time around and no-one is making the mistake of underestimating a squad that contains the talents of Mesut Ozil, Bastian Schweinsteiger, Thomas Muller, Mario Gomez and Lukas Podolski – to name just five – and they will hope to live up to expectations and be real contenders for the crown this summer.

Portugal, in contrast, only just about made it through to Poland and Ukraine via the play-offs and finished behind fellow group members Denmark in qualifying.

That has predictably led to claims they will struggle in a group containing the quality of Holland and Germany while the lack of a top centre-forward has been cited as one of the reasons why an early exit could loom.

The likes of Nelson Oliveira, Hugo Almeida and the experienced-but-inconsistent Helger Postiga do not exactly strike fear into opposition defenders, but there is real quality elsewhere in the camp.

Cristiano Ronaldo (5/1 to score first/last) is the obvious talisman and, if he produces his dazzling best, the Real Madrid man’s individual brillance can sometimes win games on its own. Premier League stars Nani and Raul Meireles are also impressive performers and, it it all clicks, they might just spring a surprise.

A victory over Germany on Saturday would certainly be one but, as Podolski has predicted, we see this going Germany’s way and the striker’s prediction of a 2-0 win also looks good value at 8/1.

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After a disappointing goalless encounter between these two sides on Friday evening, Portugal have home advantage going into the second leg and will be able to see off a resolute Bosnian side at the Estadio Nacional in which they can be backed at 4/9.

In the first leg, Portugal looked like the home side as they pushed players forward in an adventurous nature against the hosts, who looked content with taking a 0-0 scoreline from the game into the return leg in Lisbon.

Portugal would be one of the top seeds if they qualified for next summer’s finals and can rely on one of the world’s best player in Cristiano Ronaldo.

The Portuguese skipper went close to breaking the deadlock a couple of times in the opening leg, with Bosnian keeper Asmir Begovic  denying the Real Madrid forward from giving his side a lead going into the return fixture.

Ronaldo has been in scintillating form this season for his club side, scoring 17 goals in as many games for the Spanish giants.

Bosnia are likely to defend deep in Lisbon and it could be a free-kick that breaks the deadlock between the two sides. Therefore Ronaldo is a good bet to score the first goal in the game at 5/2. Don’t forget he also takes penalties for his country and plays in an advanced position when on national duty.

Although Ronaldo is the star in the Portugal side, they also have the likes of Nani, Raul Meireles and Helder Postiga, who have all been in good form for their respective clubs.

Portugal are a tough side to beat on home soil and they did beat the same opponents 1-0 in Lisbon in the second leg of their 2010 World Cup qualification play-off last year.

World champions Spain were beaten 4-0 in Lisbon last year by Paulo Bento’s side and have won six out of their last seven fixtures at home.

Bosnia are likely to adopt similar tactics to that in the first leg therefore the timing of the opening goal will be crucial. If Portugal can score an early goal in the game they will be able to open their opponents up and a scoreline of 3-0 to the home side looks a solid bet at 9/1.

However, if the score remains the same at half-time, Portugal will have to be more patient but they should get the opportunity to add misery on Bosnia once again.

The visitors have been hit with injuries to three of their first-choice defenders with Boris Pandza and Sasa Papac both out of the game through suspension.

Coach Safet Susic will be relying on some of his fringe players to step into the side for the trip, but it is very unlikely that they will be able to match the talent in the Portugal side so they are set to face elimination once again.

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