Scotland – Portugal SOCCER PICKS
Scotland and Portugal meet at Hampden Park, in a friendly match. This will be the 6th of the year for Scotland, after the previous ones against Belgium, Mexico, Peru, Hungary and Costa Rica. In the case of Portugal, this is their 7th friendly of the year, after having already faced Croatia, Algeria, Belgium, Tunisia, Holland and Egypt. There is no record of direct confrontations between these two teams in the last 3 years. The last match was played on 20-11-2002 and ended with the score: Portugal (2-0) Scotland. In this game the home factor may be decisive, as Scotland presents considerable differences in their results at home and as a visitor.
Scotland:
This is the 6th friendly match of the year for the home team, after previous friendlies in which they registered the following results: Scotland (0-4) Belgium, Mexico (1-0) Scotland, Peru (2-0) Scotland, Hungary (0-1) Scotland and Scotland (0-1) Costa Rica. This is a team that usually makes good use of the home advantage, stronger with the help of its supporters, since in the last 30 matches they register 5 wins, 2 draws and 8 losses in away matches, with 20 goals scored and 20 conceded; against 7 wins, 4 draws and 4 losses at their stadium, with 22 goals scored and 16 conceded. In their last match, for the UEFA Nations League, they lost to Israel out by (2-1). In the last 9 home matches Scotland has a record of 4 wins, 2 draws and 3 losses. They have not been very strong defensively, since they have suffered goals in 4 of the last 5 matches, and their offense has not been very effective, as they have not scored goals in 4 of the last 5 matches for this competition. In their away matches there is a tendency for few goals, since 4 of the last 9 matches have ended with Under 1,5 goals and 7 out of 9 have ended with Under 2,5 goals. In 15 games, he never got the comeback in the 7 games in which he suffered the first goal.
The Scottish team enters this unmotivated match, after a foreign defeat, by 2-1, in the visit to the land of Israel, in a game to count for the League of Nations of UEFA. In two matches played in that competition, the Scots scored 1 win and 1 loss. The trainer Alex McLeish usually acts in a traditional 3-4-3, privileging a style of game more rapid, of constant transitions, attacking, preferably, by the lateral corridors. To emphasize that, in this tactical drawing, the most advanced players are McGregor, Naismith and Russell. Apparently, there are no absences of weight due to injury.
Portugal:
The visiting team disputes its 7th friendly of the year. In the previous friendlies it registered the following markers: Portugal (1-1) Croatia, Portugal (3-0) Algeria, Belgium (0-0) Portugal, Portugal (2-2) Tunisia, Portugal (0-3) Holland and Portugal (2-1) Egypt. This is a team that usually maintains its competitive levels in home and away matches, since in the last 30 matches they register 7 wins, 5 draws and 3 losses in away matches, with 26 goals scored and 12 conceded; against 7 wins, 7 draws and 1 loss at their stadium, with 27 goals scored and 15 conceded. The team comes to this match after a win away with the Poland by (2-3). In the last 9 away matches for all competitions, Portugal have won 6, tied 2 and lost 1. In 15 matches, they have conceded the first goal 6 times, but have come back in 2.
The Portuguese team enters this match after a 2-3 victory in the visit to Poland, with goals from André Silva, Bernardo Silva and Glik (own). The trainer Fernando Santos usually acts in a 4-3-3, favoring a style of slow play, possession of the ball, progressing in the field, mainly, through the central corridor. The three arrows pointed to the goal of the rival will be André Silva, Bernardo Silva and Rafa Silva, being that in the middle zone of the terrain it is possible that Pizzi, William Carvalho and Rubén Neves will act. The whole team is still available for this game, with the exception of Cristiano Ronaldo.
