This article is part of our Daily Fantasy Soccer Cheat Sheet series.
MATCH DETAILS
Portugal vs Ukraine
March 23, 2019
Estadio da Luz, Benfica
MATCH PREVIEW
Defending champions Portugal will begin their Euro 2020 qualifying campaign at home against in-form Ukraine at Estadio da Luz on Saturday. The return of Cristiano Ronaldo to the Portugal squad for the first time since the end of World Cup will be the huge boost, and he should be straight back in to Fernando Santos' team. And while Portugal did score five in their last six games they played without him, his presence will add some extra firepower to the attack. However, with the likes of Bernardo Silva, Joao Cancelo, Goncalo Guedes and Andre Silva in the Portugal's squad, they should cause plenty of problems for the visitors.
Ukraine will also be high on confidence after finishing top of their group in the UEFA Nations League, losing just one of their last six matches. Andriy Shevchenko could hand a debut to Shakhtar Donetsk attacker Junior Moraes, who has had an excellent season with 16 goals and five assists in just 21 appearances.
PREDICTED LINEUPS
Portugal: Rui Patricio (GK), Joao Cancelo, Pepe, Ruben Dias, Mario Rui, Bernardo Silva, William Carvalho, Pizzi, Raphael Guerreiro, Andre Silva, Cristiano Ronaldo
Ukraine: Andriy Pyatov (GK), Oleksandr Karavaev, Mykyta Burda, Serhiy Kryvtsov, Vitalii Mykolenko, Marlos, Taras Stepanenko, Ruslan Malinovskiy, Viktor Tsygankov, Junior Moraes, Oleksandr Zinchenko
COMBINED XI
PLAYERS RECOMMENDATIONS
Defender: Joao Cancelo (8.5
MATCH DETAILS
Portugal vs Ukraine
March 23, 2019
Estadio da Luz, Benfica
MATCH PREVIEW
Defending champions Portugal will begin their Euro 2020 qualifying campaign at home against in-form Ukraine at Estadio da Luz on Saturday. The return of Cristiano Ronaldo to the Portugal squad for the first time since the end of World Cup will be the huge boost, and he should be straight back in to Fernando Santos' team. And while Portugal did score five in their last six games they played without him, his presence will add some extra firepower to the attack. However, with the likes of Bernardo Silva, Joao Cancelo, Goncalo Guedes and Andre Silva in the Portugal's squad, they should cause plenty of problems for the visitors.
Ukraine will also be high on confidence after finishing top of their group in the UEFA Nations League, losing just one of their last six matches. Andriy Shevchenko could hand a debut to Shakhtar Donetsk attacker Junior Moraes, who has had an excellent season with 16 goals and five assists in just 21 appearances.
PREDICTED LINEUPS
Portugal: Rui Patricio (GK), Joao Cancelo, Pepe, Ruben Dias, Mario Rui, Bernardo Silva, William Carvalho, Pizzi, Raphael Guerreiro, Andre Silva, Cristiano Ronaldo
Ukraine: Andriy Pyatov (GK), Oleksandr Karavaev, Mykyta Burda, Serhiy Kryvtsov, Vitalii Mykolenko, Marlos, Taras Stepanenko, Ruslan Malinovskiy, Viktor Tsygankov, Junior Moraes, Oleksandr Zinchenko
COMBINED XI
PLAYERS RECOMMENDATIONS
Defender: Joao Cancelo (8.5 credits): Cancelo, who plays his club football for Juventus in Serie A, is an excellent full-back because of his contributions defensively and in the attack. He is averaging 1.1 tackles, 1.1 clearances and 0.6 interceptions per game for Juventus, while also adding one goal and two assists in 18 games.
Midfielder: Bernardo Silva (9.5 credits): Silva plays as a midfielder for his club, Manchester City, but he is expected to play on the right side as an attacking player for his country. He struggled a lot in the World Cup, failing to score in four matches, but he scored in each of his last two club matches, tallying five goals and six assists in 29 total appearances.
Forward: Cristiano Ronaldo (12 credits): The Juventus attacker has 19 goals and eight assists in 26 matches this season, and he is Portugal's all time leading scorer with 85 goals in 154 appearances. His recent hat trick against Atletico Madrid in the UEFA Champions League helped his club qualify for the last eight, and his return to the national team after the end of World Cup has strengthen the Portugal team, with their primary focus defending their European Championship.
Captain: Cristiano Ronaldo
Vice-Captain: Bernardo Silva
