MX23RW : Tuesday, November 5 18:22:14| >> :600:467041:467041:
[monks data]
Portugal national football team
Nations League | League A
Oct 14, 2020 at 7.45pm UK
 
Sweden national football team

Portugal
3 - 0
Sweden

Silva (21'), Jota (44', 72')
Jota (52'), Fernandes (85')
FT(HT: 2-0)

Ekdal (36'), Olsson (57'), Jansson (62'), Andersson (72'), Berg (79')

How Portugal could line up against Sweden

Sports Mole looks at how Portugal could line up for their UEFA Nations League showdown with Sweden on Wednesday evening.

Portugal's defence of their UEFA Nations League crown continues on Wednesday when they welcome an out-of-sorts Sweden side to the Estadio Jose Alvalade for the fourth round of fixtures in Group A3.

The reigning Nations League champions played out a 0-0 draw with World Cup holders France at the weekend, and Fernando Santos's side currently occupy top spot in the group with seven points to show from a possible nine thus far.

With Sweden travelling to Lisbon without a single point from their first three games in the 2020-21 tournament, Portugal will no doubt be confident of returning to winning ways as they look to fend off France in the race for finals qualification.

Here, Sports Mole takes a look at how Portugal could line up for their midweek showdown with Sweden.



Possible Portugal XI vs. Sweden

Out: Cristiano Ronaldo (coronavirus)

The Nations League holders must contend with a quick turnaround in fixtures, but Santos will not be taking this game lightly even though he has plenty of options for change for the meeting with the group's basement side.

The good news for the Portugal boss is that his team came out of their goalless stalemate with France unscathed, but the hosts will have to make do without their star man in Cristiano Ronaldo, who returned a positive coronavirus test earlier this week.

Rui Patricio is a shoo-in to start in goal and earn his 90th cap for the national team, with Anthony Lopes withdrawing after also testing positive for coronavirus, although all other players have returned negative tests prior to the meeting with Sweden.

The Wolverhampton Wanderers shot-stopper is likely to be protected by the centre-back pairing of Ruben Dias and Pepe once again, but Joao Cancelo could come in for Nelson Semedo on the right-hand side should Santos opt to freshen things up only three days after a challenging bout with France.

In the middle of the park, Danilo Pereira and Bruno Fernandes will look to keep their spots, and the midfield three could be completed by Joao Moutinho - who was named amongst the substitutes for Sunday's encounter with the world champions - which could see William Carvalho drop to the bench.

Up top, Ronaldo boasts an impressive seven goals in this fixture, but after testing positive for COVID-19, the Juventus man will miss out and Diogo Jota is the obvious option to deputise on the left-hand side.

Jota will likely form part of a front three with Bernardo Silva and Joao Felix, who both featured from the first whistle at the weekend, although Andre Silva also has every chance of spearheading the Portugal attack.

ID:418139: cacheID:418139:1false2false3false:QQ:: from db desktop :LenBod:restore:5629:No Data Analysis info
Restore Data
Share this article now:
France's Paul Pogba in action with Portugal's Danilo Pereira in the Nations League on October 11, 2020
Read Next:
UEFA Nations League roundup: France and Portugal goalless, Croatia beat Sweden
>
rhs 2.0
Today's games header
Tables header RHS

League A1

TeamPWDLPTS
1 Portugal Portugal431010
2 Croatia Croatia42117
3 Poland Poland41124
4 Scotland flag Scotland40131

League A2

TeamPWDLPTS
1 Italy Italy431010
2 France France43019
3 Belgium Belgium41124
4 Israel Israel40040

League A3

TeamPWDLPTS
1 Germany Germany431010
2 Netherlands Netherlands41215
3 Hungary Hungary41215
4 Bosnia Bosnia H'vina40131

League A4

TeamPWDLPTS
1 Spain Spain431010
2 Denmark Denmark42117
3 Serbia Serbia41124
4 Switzerland Switzerland40131

League B1

TeamPWDLPTS
1 Czech Republic Czech Republic42117
2 Georgia Georgia42026
3 Albania national flag Albania42026
4 Ukraine Ukraine41124

League B2

TeamPWDLPTS
1 Greece Greece440012
2 England flag England43019
3 Ireland Rep. Ireland41033
4 Finland Finland40040

League B3

TeamPWDLPTS
1 Norway Norway42117
2 Austria Austria42117
3 Slovenia Slovenia42117
4 Kazakhstan Kazakhstan40131

League B4

TeamPWDLPTS
1 Turkey Turkey431010
2 Wales flag Wales42208
3 Iceland Iceland41124
4 Montenegro Montenegro40040

League C1

TeamPWDLPTS
1 Sweden Sweden431010
2 Slovakia Slovakia431010
3 Estonia Estonia41033
4 Azerbaijan Azerbaijan40040

League C2

TeamPWDLPTS
1 Romania Romania440012
2 Kosovo flag Kosovo43019
3 Cyprus Cyprus41033
4 Lithuania Lithuania40040

League C3

TeamPWDLPTS
1 Northern Ireland flag N. Ireland42117
2 Belarus Belarus41306
3 Bulgaria Bulgaria41215
4 Luxembourg flag Luxembourg40222

League C4

TeamPWDLPTS
1 Macedonia N. Macedonia431010
2 Armenia Armenia41124
3 Latvia Latvia41124
4 Faroe Islands Faroe Islands40313

League D1

TeamPWDLPTS
1 Gibraltar flag Gibraltar31205
2 San Marino flag San Marino21013
3 Liechtenstein flag Liechtenstein30212

League D2

TeamPWDLPTS
1 Republic of Moldova Moldova32016
2 Malta flag Malta32016
3 Andorra flag Andorra20020


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
Argentina's Lionel Messi kisses the World Cup trophy after collecting the Golden Ball award on December 18, 2022Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!