Brazil vs Switzerland: Mon 28th Nov, 4:00pm
Brazil’s pursuit of a sixth World Cup will continue on Monday as they take on Switzerland in Doha.
Tite’s men kicked off their campaign with a solid 2-0 victory over Serbia on Thursday, although the win was overshadowed by an injury to Neymar Jr.
The PSG superstar was forced to come off late in the second half as pictures of his swollen ankle trended on social media.
Thankfully for Tite, Brazil’s squad is awash with top-quality talent. Richarlison, for instance, bagged a memorable brace to hand his side victory over Serbia.
The Tottenham forward will be looking to continue his fine start to the tournament against Switzerland, though that is certainly far easier said than done.
Murat Yakin’s side are tricky customers who have won all of their last four competitive outings.
Portugal, Spain, Czech Republic were all beaten by the Swiss in the UEFA Nations League while Cameroon also joined that list following’s Thursday’s Group G opener.
Having three points on the board will allow Yakin’s side to play with a certain level of freedom. What’s more, Switzerland’s recent record against Brazil will provide plenty of encouragement.
The two nations have met twice during the last nine years, with Switzerland picking up a 1-0 win back in 2013 and also holding Brazil to a 1-1 draw during a group match at the 2018 World Cup.
The Swiss certainly have enough talent to frustrate their South American counterparts for a third time.
As well as boasting five Premier League names in their squad, Switzerland also have plenty of experience in the form of vice-captain Xerdan Shaqiri, Haris Seferovic and Yann Sommer.
With that in mind, our recommendation is to back a draw, or 1-1 in the correct score market.
With regards to goalscorers, Richarlison is the man to back following Neymar’s injury.
Swiss forward Breel Embolo also offers an enticing price in the anytime market after his impact against Cameroon.
Portugal vs Uruguay: Mon 28th Nov, 7:00pm
Portugal will be desperate for revenge when they take on Uruguay in their second World Cup group game on Monday.
Four years ago, both these teams met in the round of 16 as Edinson Cavani bagged a brace to send Uruguay into the quarter-finals and force Portugal on an early flight home.
That 2-1 defeat in Russia will certainly provide plenty of motivation for a Portuguese side desperate to make an impact on the world stage.
Head coach Fernando Santos has already led his nation to a European triumph, but he is now intent on discarding Portugal’s tag of being the best nation to have never made a World Cup final.
The 2016 European champions made a winning start to their World Cup campaign, picking up a 3-2 victory over a resilient Ghana side on Thursday.
Cristiano Ronaldo was one of the goalscorers as the 37-year-old put his dramatic Manchester United exit to one side.
The all-time leading goalscorer in international football has won every piece of silverware in the sport – with the small exception of the World Cup. Considering his age, this could be Ronaldo’s last opportunity of claiming the biggest prize in football.
Portugal were certainly far more assured than Uruguay in their opener. Diego Alonso’s side were held to a goalless draw by South Korea as they failed to find a breakthrough.
While La Celeste boast a lot of experience in the form of Fernando Muslera, Diego Godin, Luis Suarez and Edinson Cavani, there is a clear lack of youth. Those four players alone have a combined age of 142.
Uruguay have failed to score in three of their last five games and there’s little to suggest that a turnaround is imminent.
With that in mind, our recommendation is to back Portugal to win in the outright market.
Ronaldo to score anytime is another enticing proposition in the betting market.
