Portugal face Switzerland at Porto's Estadio Do Dragao stadium on Wednesday night, with both teams looking to reach the final of the inaugural UEFA Nations League.
Fernando Santos's side have recorded draws in each of their last four matches, while Switzerland have won just three of their last seven games in all competitions.
Portugal
© Reuters
Portugal received a relatively favourable draw for the qualification stages, with Italy and Poland providing the opposition between September and November, but Santos's side still had to perform strongly to set up the chance to win a second trophy in three years.
A narrow 1-0 success over Italy set the tone, while a three-goal burst in 21 minutes led to Portugal maintaining their 100% record with victory over Poland.
Italy's opening-game draw with Poland meant that Portugal could secure qualification for the semi-finals with a game to spare, providing that they avoided defeat against the Azzurri, and a stalemate in Milan wrapped up their progress with minimal fuss.
Portugal ended the campaign with a 1-1 draw at home to Poland, but A Selecao das Quinas have continued their tendency to be involved in tight games by sharing the spoils with Ukraine and Serbia at the start of qualifying for Euro 2020.
A total of five draws have now been registered in eight outings, with their widest margin of success coming courtesy of a 3-1 friendly win in Scotland, and it leaves Santos's team with much to prove this week.
Santos is currently in the process of introducing new players into the squad, with seven of the 23-man group yet to reach double figures in terms of appearances for their country.
That means that there remains a certain level of dependency on the shoulders of Cristiano Ronaldo, who will no doubt be looking to add to his 85 goals as he continues to aim for 100 before international retirement.
However, this set of players can only have benefited from their talisman being absent from some of their most recent fixtures, and this could be the week where the nation's prospects show that they can be a force to be feared in the future.
Recent form: WWDD
Recent form (all competitions): WWDDDD
Switzerland
© Reuters
Switzerland went into the qualification stages of this tournament acknowledging that they were outsiders to progress, with World Cup semi-finalists Belgium well-fancied to win the whole competition.
That appeared increasingly likely when Belgium edged out Switzerland by a 2-1 scoreline midway through Group 2, and the lack of threat offered by Iceland put Switzerland in a position where they were required to defeat the Red Devils in the reverse fixture.
Belgium stormed into a 2-0 advantage, which left Switzerland needing at least four goals, but Vladimir Petkovic's team produced one of the most memorable comebacks in recent memory as they ran out 5-2 victors in Lucerne.
The favourites - like the rest of Europe - had been stunned, and Switzerland's presence in Portugal this week has resulted in all four nations being confident of lifting the trophy on Sunday.
Switzerland remain the underdogs, however, with Petkovic's team on a run of just four triumphs in nine outings, while they also let slip a three-goal lead in their last game against Denmark.
The Scandinavian nation scored each of their goals in the final six minutes plus added-on time, and that capitulation is enough to leave Switzerland with very little momentum heading into the Finals.
The main positive is that 10 goals have been netted in their last three matches, with eight different players getting on the scoresheet, but Xherdan Shaqiri continues to carry the team's biggest threat.
The Liverpool winger failed to get onto the pitch during the Champions League final, although that should only add to his motivation to make an impact on this stage on Wednesday night.
Recent form: WLWW
Recent form (all competitions): LWLWWD
Team News
© Reuters
Santos's backline appears to be set in stone, but the Portugal boss has numerous options to choose from further forward.
Wolverhampton Wanderers trio Ruben Neves, Joao Moutinho and Diogo Jota will all be looking to feature, but they may find themselves among the replacements for this game.
Danilo Pereira and William Carvalho could be preferred in central midfield, while Santos may struggle to ignore the form of Sporting Lisbon's Bruno Fernandes.
Haris Seferovic was absent from Portugal's last match, but the Benfica forward is likely to get the nod over Albian Ajeti in attack.
Shaqiri will also come back into the team, although it is unclear which position he will take up with Petkovic having used five in midfield against Denmark.
Fabian Schar should return to the defence, and that could result in Ricardo Rodriguez replacing Steven Zuber at left-back or left wing-back.
Portugal possible starting lineup:
Rui Patrico; Cancelo, Pepe, Dias, Guerreiro; Danilo, Carvalho; Bernardo Silva, Fernandes, Guedes; Ronaldo
Switzerland possible starting lineup:
Sommer; Elvedi, Akanji, Schar; Mbabu, Zakaria, Xhaka, Freuler, Rodriguez; Shaqiri; Seferovic
Head To Head
Wednesday's encounter will represent the 23rd meeting between the two sides, with Switzerland registering 10 wins in comparison to seven victories for Portugal.
However, just three games have taken place since the turn of the millennium, and each of those matches have produced 2-0 scorelines.
The teams traded results during the qualification stages for the 2018 World Cup, while Switzerland prevailed when the nations met at Euro 2008.
We say: Portugal 3-1 Switzerland
Portugal have struggled in their recent games, but we are backing the European champions to put on a show in front of their own supporters. Switzerland have been inconsistent since last year's World Cup, and we do not think that they will have enough quality to overcome their hosts.
Darren Plant
