Turkey vs Portugal Predictions

• Portugal have won their last 11 competitive matches
• Turkey have lost three of their last five matches against FIFA-ranked Top 10 nations
• Diogo Jota has got four goals and three assists in his last 370 minutes of action for Portugal

Portugal to pick up another three points

Portugal should prevail when they take on Turkey in a crucial Euro 2024 Group F clash in Dortmund on Saturday.

Roberto Martinez’s men were given a scare by the Czech Republic in their opener and required a stoppage-time goal from substitute Francisco Conceicao to claim all three points.

They dominated the game and deserved the win on the balance of play, but the performance raised some questions about their prospects of going on to win the tournament.

Turkish teen delights but defence is still an issue

Turkey, on the other hand, delivered the sort of win that should give them a real confidence boost ahead of two tougher tasks in Group F.

Teenager Arda Guler announced himself on the international stage with their superb second goal and Vincenzo Montella got his selection, tactics and substitutions about right.

But the Crescent-Stars’ defence remains an issue that will prevent them from going all the way. Georgian striker Georges Mikautadze was given the freedom of the penalty area for his goal and the first-time qualifiers carved out three great chances to level when they upped the pressure in the second half.

Portuguese playmakers will thrive

Portugal will probably be posed a very different problem to the one they encountered against the Czechs, who strung five defenders across the back and refused to open the game up.

Attack may be Turkey’s best form of defence as they have kept only four clean sheets in their last 19 games and shipped three goals against Luxembourg, two against Latvia, four against Japan and six against Austria over the last two years.

The Portuguese playmakers will thrive in the spaces that Turkey’s team tends to allow and as long as Cristiano Ronaldo has his shooting boots on, they will win.

Jota deserves a chance to start

Ronaldo’s display against the Czech Republic was not up to his former standards and Martinez may be tempted to try something else sooner than he did on Tuesday.

Diogo Jota did well when he came on and thought he had scored only for the goal to be ruled out due to Ronaldo straying a few inches ofside earlier in the move.

The Liverpool striker has scored four goals and assisted three more in his last 370 minutes on the pitch for Portugal and looks more likely to take a chance than his 39-year-old colleague at the moment.