Portugal - Czech Republic predictions and free betting tips [18/06/2024]

On Tuesday, 18 June, in the first round of the group stage of Euro 2024, Portugal will face off against the Czech Republic. The Red and Greens are seen as contenders for the trophy, while the Tricolours are hoping to battle for a spot in the playoffs.

Predicted Line-ups

Portugal: Costa; Cancelo, Pepe, Dias, Mendes; Palhinha, Vitinha, Fernandes; Leao, Ronaldo, Bernardo.

Left-back Guerreiro (Bayern) is out of the squad due to medical reasons and will miss the tournament. The coaching staff also decided to do without midfielder Renato Sanches (Roma) and winger Bruma (Braga). Otavio suffered a serious injury ahead of the competition and will also miss Euro, replaced by Mateus Nunes (Manchester City). On the other hand, experienced players such as Pepe (41 years old, Porto) and Cristiano Ronaldo (39 years old, Al-Nassr, 130 goals in 207 matches) are available, with the latter in peak form since his arrival in Saudi Arabia, having scored 10 goals during the Euro 2024 qualifiers.

Cristiano notably netted twice against Ireland in a friendly match last week. Competition in attack will come from Goncalo Ramos (PSG, 13 matches, 8 goals), who became the main forward during the 2022 World Cup. Rafael Leao and Bernardo Silva will provide creativity on the flanks, with Bruno Fernandes, Vitinha, and Joao Palhinha forming a midfield trio.

Czech Republic: Stanek; Holes, Granac, Krejci; Coufal, Soucek, Provod, Barak, Jurasek; Kuchta, Schick.  

Midfielder Michal Sadilek (Twente) is recently out of action due to injury and will miss the tournament, having been injured during a bike ride last weekend, his participation remains questionable. Defender Gabriel (Midtjylland), who was present at the March camp, as well as defensive midfielder Kral (Union Berlin, 39 matches), winger Masopust (Slavia Prague, 34 matches), and forward Cvancara (Borussia Monchengladbach, 1 goal in 6 matches) were not called up by the coaching staff. Patrik Schick (Bayern Leverkusen, 19 goals in 38 matches) was the top scorer at the last EURO and is expected to be the main attacking threat for the team.

He enters the tournament in good form, with Chytil (Slavia Prague, 6 goals in 14 matches) alongside him in attack. Young attacking midfielder Adam Hlozek (Bayern Leverkusen, 2 goals in 32 matches) is included in the squad, along with West Ham defenders Coufal (42 matches) and Soucek (12 goals in 69 matches), centre-defender Zima (Slavia Prague, 21 matches) and midfielders Barak (Fiorentina, 10 goals in 41 matches) and Cerny (Wolfsburg, 16 matches, 6 goals). Veteran Jan Kuchta could come off the bench in the second half to reinforce the team.

Stadium

The match will take place in Leipzig at the Red Bull Arena.

Portugal

Portugal has gone through several great eras with Eusebio, Rui Costa, Figo, and Pauleta, not to mention a young Cristiano Ronaldo in 2004 (final loss to Greece), but it was in 2016 that they won their first trophy. At the Stade de France, the Portuguese team won the Euro over Les Bleus thanks to Eder’s goal in extra time (0-1). Interestingly, in that year, the red and greens drew three times in the group stage but qualified for the playoffs due to a good goal difference. At Euro 2024, the Selecao are justifiably among the favourites for the title following the appointment of Roberto Martinez as head coach, replacing the ageing Fernando Santos. 

The Spanish specialist started strongly, having a perfect qualifying campaign (10 wins out of 10 matches). However, the Portuguese performed poorly at the 2022 World Cup, where they were ousted by Morocco in the quarter-finals. In March this year, Portugal secured a convincing win over Sweden (5-2) but surprisingly lost to Slovenia (2-0). They then displayed a dazzling performance against Finland (4-2) despite some defensive errors and suffered another setback against Croatia (1-2) last weekend. However, Roberto Martinez's men redeemed themselves in a final rehearsal against Ireland last Tuesday (3-0), boosting their confidence after two mixed performances.

Czech Republic

The Czech Republic won the European Championship in 1976 but has not claimed the title since, even losing to Germany in the EURO 96 final. At the last continental championship, the Czechs played brilliantly under the outstanding Patrik Schick, scoring 5 goals in 5 matches, though they ultimately lost to Denmark in the quarterfinals. In the Euro 2024 qualifiers, the Tricolour, ranked 36th by FIFA, finished second, trailing Albania, which earned the same points. 

The Czech Republic regained their self-confidence in a series of friendly matches, securing victories over Norway (1-2) and Armenia (2-1). They then had a field day against Malta (7-1), and last Monday narrowly defeated North Macedonia (2-1). After a goalless first half, Patrik Schick opened the scoring, only for Alimi to equalise shortly after. It took a penalty from Barak in the 99th minute to secure the win.

Head-to-Head

These teams met in the A League of Nations in 2022, with Portugal winning both matches without conceding a goal (2-0 and 0-4). In the last five head-to-head encounters, Portugal has won four and lost only once.

Prediction for the Match: Portugal vs Czech Republic

The Czech Republic has recently gained impressive form and can mount a challenge. However, Martinez's men, with due respect to their opponents, are one of the tournament favourites and possess an outstanding selection of players across all lines. I don't believe the red and greens will stumble in the first round, so I'm backing a victory for the favourites with a -1 handicap.

Prediction for Total Goals

Three of Portugal's last four matches have been high-scoring (total goals over 2.5). The Czechs are more than capable of striking at least once, so I'm calling it for the "over".

Prediction for Corners

The Portuguese outclass their opponents and will seize the initiative from the start. I'm betting on Portugal’s individual total over 5.5 corners.

Prediction for Yellow Cards

The Czech team will spend a lot of time defending, so the nominal guests will edge out on yellow cards.

Prediction for the Score

I’m placing a bet on a final score of 3-1 in favour of Portugal.