EURO 2024 PREVIEW Tues: Portugal v Czech Republic

Portugal begin their EURO 2024 campaign when they take on Czech Republic at the Red Bull Arena in Leipzig on Wednesday night, writes JOE CITRONE.

The 2016 champions will be aiming to regain their crown this summer; now under the stewardship of former Wigan Athletic and Everton manager Roberto Martinez after the long reign of Fernando Santos.

Their squad, on paper, looks incredibly strong; boasting some exciting young talents like Joao Neves and Antonio Silva but also retaining some of their more seasoned, experienced pros like Pepe and Cristiano Ronaldo.

The balance of the team looks good, and there is quiet confidence that they could go quite well this summer in Germany, it’s just a case of whether Roberto Martinez can bring it all together.

The big decision for Martinez is whether he sticks with the legendary Ronaldo up-front, who has served his country so well over the years, or whether he affords an opportunity to the new guard of Rafael Leao or Goncalo Ramos.

LAST FIVE STATS

HEAD-TO-HEAD
SEP 2022 NATIONS LEAGUE Czech Republic 0-4 Portugal
JUN 2022 NATIONS LEAGUE Portugal 2-0 Czech Republic
JUN 2012 EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIP Czech Republic 0-1 Portugal
JUN 2008 EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIP Czech Republic 1-3 Portugal
JUN 1996 EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIP Portugal 0-1 Czech Republic

PORTUGAL
JUN 2024 INTERNATIONAL FRIENDLY Portugal 3-0 Ireland
JUN 2024 INTERNATIONAL FRIENDLY Portugal 1-2 Croatia
JUN 2024 INTERNATIONAL FRIENDLY Portugal 4-2 Finland
MAR 2024 INTERNATIONAL FRIENDLY Slovenia 2-0 Portugal
MAR 2024 INTERNATIONAL FRIENDLY Portugal 5-2 Sweden

CZECH REPUBLIC
JUN 2024 INTERNATIONAL FRIENDLY Czech Republic 2-1 North Macedonia
JUN 2024 INTERNATIONAL FRIENDLY Czech Republic 7-1 Malta
MAR 2024 INTERNATIONAL FRIENDLY Czech Republic 2-1 Armenia
MAR 2024 INTERNATIONAL FRIENDLY Norway 1-2 Czech Republic
NOV 2023 EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIP Czech Republic 3-0 Moldova

Czech Republic face a tough opening game at EURO 2024, and they will need to be at their very best if they are to get anything out of it.

To their credit, Ivan Hasek’s side are on a run of five consecutive victories heading into their first match of this tournament. Still, none of those defeated opponents were as strong as Portugal will likely be on Wednesday.

Patrick Schick, who was so unbelievably prolific at the last European Championship, is coming off the back of an excellent season with Bayer Leverkusen under Xabi Alonso and will be one of the main players that Portugal will be looking to keep quiet on Wednesday night.

EURO 2024 has seen a lot of high-scoring games so far and I fancy that run to continue at the Red Bull Arena on Wednesday night. I will be backing a Portugal win and over 2.5 goals at 6/5 with starsports.bet.

Also, as an extra tip, with referees supposedly trying to stamp down on referee dissent at this tournament, I am backing Bruno Fernandes to be shown a card at 14/5 due to the Manchester United midfielder’s history of having a moan at officials.

RECOMMENDED BETS
BACK Portugal and over 2.5 goals 1.5pts at 6/5 (⭐ ? CLICK TO BET NOW)
BACK Bruno Fernandes to be shown a card 1pt at 14/5 (⭐ ? CLICK TO BET NOW)