Stadium: Baku Olympic Stadium (Baku).
Portugal have beaten Azerbaijan 11-0 in their last five successive head-to-head encounters. Can the Land of Fire break their losing streak? We predict that It will be challenging for the Portuguese.
Azerbaijan
The Azerbaijani team has never once in their history played in major international tournaments. Although they occasionally show good matches, their lack of stability does not solve big problems. The current qualification for the 2022 World Cup is going very poorly for Azerbaijan. Yes, they drew against Portugal in their first encounter, losing 0-1, then Serbia and Luxembourg with the same score of 1-2, and in the last round, they shared points with Ireland, 1-1. In essence, the Azeris could have expected points in every game, but in reality, they only scored one point, closing out the Group A standings.
Portugal
The Portuguese national team had a poor summer in 2021, leaving their Euro 2020 championship credentials behind. Although they managed to get out of a difficult group, they fell to Belgium in the last 16, losing 0-1. Fernando Santos’ side will now face qualifying for the 2022 World Cup, where they have a challenging job. Yes, they have earned 10 out of a possible 12 points in terms of points, but every success is incredibly difficult for them. It is evident in the last contest when they were 88 minutes behind Ireland 0-1, but then Cristiano scored in the 89th and 96th minutes, breaking the world record for goals for a national side and lifting his side to a 2-1 victory.
History of head-to-head encounters between Azerbaijan and Portugal
The teams have played seven face-to-face matches. The Portuguese have recorded six wins and one more draw. The goal difference is also on the side of the forthcoming battle - 19:1. The last time the opponents met was in March 2021, when the Portuguese players were victorious - 1-0.
Expert Betting Tips
Azerbaijan and Portugal approach their encounter with completely different standings. If the Land of Fire representatives have collected only one point, Fernando Santos’ charges have already got ten points. At the same time, Azerbaijanis are struggling in all matches, losing only with one goal difference, while the Portuguese are winning with hard work. What’s more, they will now be without Cristiano Ronaldo, who took his shirt off in the 96th minute and received his second yellow card. As a result, a bet on Azerbaijan’s victory with a handicap (+1.5) at odds of about 2.58 is inevitable.
We can hardly expect high-scoring activity in the upcoming clash. Azerbaijan has been poor at attacking during its 7-match history with the Portuguese, with only one goal scored in 1999. Without their star player Fernando Santos, it is unlikely that they will show much promise offensively either. Their current problems are obvious. Moreover, the encounter between the opponents ended in a 1-0 win for Portugal. Therefore, even the best option for our prediction is Total Under (2.5) goals at the odds close to 2.49.
Andre Silva is a forward who showed great statistics last season playing for Eintracht. He scored 28 goals in 32 Bundesliga games before being promoted to Leipzig, where he scored three goals in three games. He cannot boast the same solid performance as he is forced to remain in Cristiano’s shadow in the Portuguese national team. Now he will be gone, so the 25-year-old striker has a great chance to prove himself, and you can bet on Andre Silva’s goal for 1.62.
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