International
2016-06-08 - Portugal vs Estonia
A Sports Betting Pick by Cruiser
Football: International Friendly
8th June 2016 – Kickoff time 20:45
This will be the last friendly before Portugal travels and competes in Euro 2016 which will be in France. Estonia plays a tough and disciplined football which is why they do not get beaten easily so it is not a surprise that Portugal has chosen them for their last warmup match. The last time they met was seven years ago and it ended in a goalless draw in Tallin. However prior to that, Portugal easily won two qualifiers for the World Cup 2008.
Portugal is confident of getting the win over Estonia in this match. A win here will greatly raise their self confidence before they travel to France for Euro 2016. Their last friendly came ten days ago and they beat Norway by 3-0 in front of their own fans at home. Then they were beaten by England 1-0 with the only goal coming in the 86th minute from the Three Lions. They did lose the services of stopper Bruno Alves in the 35th minute after a reckless challenge.
Still for coach Santos it was a good test as he was able to see how his side managed with a player less in a match. In those two games they did not featured two Real Madrid players the likes of Pepe and Cristiano Ronaldo. They are again likely to be rested in this match as Santos send in a mixed team once again.
Meanwhile, Estonia finished as fourth in their qualifying group and will not be heading to Euro 2016 in France. They were in the race for third position three rounds before the end that led to the play-off but then they suffered three defeats in a row, while Slovenia won two matches and drew once. That means in the end Slovenia was behind by six points with a goal difference of 4-9.
Their problem lies in scoring goals as they only managed to score against San Marino and Lithuania. They also conceded few goals regardless they were in the same group as England and Switzerland. Since the end of the qualifiers they played eight friendly matches then and won three, drew three and lost the other two. It is very likely now that coach Pehrsson will opt for a defensive tactic.
Go for Portugal to get the win here but likely by a 2-0 win only. So give the 1 3/4 ball Asian Handicap.
The Pick :
Portugal 2-0 Estonia
