Spain v Portugal betting tips: Glamour friendly for Iberian rivals
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Preview and odds for Friday’s friendly
Spain and Portugal head into Euro 2020 with aspirations of lifting the trophy so a glamour friendly on the eve of the tournament presents the ideal opportunity for both proud footballing nations to score a morale-boosting victory.
There have been many fascinating battles down the years with Portugal having to wait more than a quarter of a century from their first meeting in 1921 before they won a fixture between the two nations.
Spain raised a few eyebrows by naming a Euro 2020 squad without a Real Madrid player and head into this friendly at the Estadio Wanda Metropolitano in Madrid priced at 5/4, Portugal are 9/4 and so is the draw.
Friday’s friendly kicks off at 6.30pm and is live on Sky Sports as we take a look at some Spain v Portugal betting tips.
Match odds
Cristiano Ronaldo would be the first name on many team sheets but the Juventus forward is not the only standout as far as Portugal are concerned.
Head coach Fernando Santos has kept Ronaldo as captain despite criticism from the forward but should he choose to look elsewhere he has a wealth of talent at his disposal.
His current squad includes Manchester City stars Ruben Dias, Joao Cancelo and Bernardo Silva, Pepe of Porto, Manchester United’s Bruno Fernandes, Liverpool’s Diogo Jota and rising star Joao Felix who won the title in Spain with Atletico Madrid.
Spain coach Luis Enrique has an embarrassment of riches without Real Madrid’s Spanish stars but will miss the injured Sergio Ramos even if he can call on the likes of Chelsea’s Champions League winner Cesar Azpilicueta and Europa League winner Gerard Moreno (pictured) of Villarreal.
Even though it is a friendly fixture with such an array of talent goals can be expected with the price on both teams to score at 3/4 and no at 19/20.
Both teams to score with a Spain win is 17/5, with Portugal 5/1 in the same market while a score draw is 16/5.
Spain v Portugal head-to-head
Portugal will look to make it a seventh win against Spain while their opponents have 17 victories and there have been 14 draws.
Their last meeting was a 0-0 draw, again in a friendly, in Lisbon in October 2020 when the crowd was limited to 2,500 due to Covid-19 restrictions.
The sides drew 3-3 in a 2018 World Cup group game in Sochi and Spain took a 4-2 penalty shoot-out win in the semi-final of the 2012 European Championship in Donetsk.
The last win in regulation time went to Portugal in a friendly in Lisbon in 2010 which they won 4-0 including two goals for Helder Postiga who had a disappointing season at Tottenham in 2003/4.
Previous XI
Portugal: Lopes, Mendes, Dias, Fonte, Cancelo, Sanches, Neves, Jota, Felix, Silva, Ronaldo.
Key battles
Moreno will hope to shine for Spain, as he did with Villarreal as the underdogs upset Manchester United in the Europa League final, by scoring against Portugal.
He is 9/5 to score, 4/1 to get the opening goal and 80/1 for a hat-trick. Among his Spain team-mates, Alvaro Morata is 9/2 to score first and Ferran Torres is 6/1.
Ronaldo is 13/10 to score at any time during the game and 16/5 to net the opening goal while his price for a hat-trick is 40/1. In the Portugal ranks Andre Silva is 5/1 to open the scoring with Felix 7/1 and Jota 15/2.
All odds and markets correct as of date of publication
