Portugal welcome Poland to Porto for matchday five in the Nations League. Portugal need only a point to secure a top two finish while Poland must collect four points across their final two games to keep their finals hopes alive.
Despite seeing their perfect record come to an end last month with a 0-0 draw against Scotland, Portugal remains top of League A Group 1. With Croatia’s failure to close out their game against Poland it allowed Roberto Martinez’s side to keep their three point advantage but they may still need a result on matchday six if Croatia defeats Scotland. Portugal’s Nations League home record has been strong winning seven of their 10 home matches across all editions of the competition and conceding no more than one goal in each of those games. Their 3-1 victory over Poland last month sets them up for this rematch where another positive result would secure them a place in the quarter finals.
Poland however are winless in their last six encounters with Portugal but under new manager Michal Probierz they have shown signs of improvement. They have scored the same amount of goals as Portugal after four games (seven), but have conceded nine. While their Euro 2024 qualification was disappointing they bounced back with some promising Nations League performances including a late win over Scotland and a comeback draw against Croatia. However their defensive issues persist and a loss today will end their hopes of advancing.
Portugal face defensive challenges with Ruben Dias and Goncalo Inacio out due to injuries. Antonio Silva is expected to start and in attack the team will miss Diogo Jota, Goncalo Ramos and midfielders Ruben Neves, Matheus Nunes and Pedro Goncalves.
Poland will be without star striker Robert Lewandowski who withdrew with a back injury. Arkadiusz Milik is also unavailable leaving Karol Swiderski and Krzysztof Piatek to compete for a forward spot. Midfielders Jakub Piotrowski and Kacper Kozlowski are absent and defender Pawel Dawidowicz is still recovering from a recent injury.
Portugal possible lineup: Diogo Costa; Dalot, Antonio Silva, Araujo, Nuno Mendes; Bruno Fernandes, Joao Neves, Bernardo Silva; Neto, Ronaldo, Leao
Poland possible lineup: Bulka; Frankowski, Piatkowski, Bednarek, Kiwior, Zalewski; S. Szymanski, Moder, Zielinski; Swiderski, Piatek
