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Sports Mole previews Friday's European Championship qualifying clash between Portugal and Slovakia, including predictions, team news and possible lineups.

Portugal will welcome Slovakia on Friday evening knowing that a victory would see them secure their spot in next summer's European Championship finals with three games to spare.

An excellent campaign to date has left Roberto Martinez's side at the top of Group J on 18 points, while Slovakia are second in the section, picking up 13 points from their opening six matches.

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Match preview

© Reuters

Portugal have not missed a step in Group J, posting six wins out of six, which has left them comfortably at the top of the table, boasting 18 points, five clear of second-placed Slovakia and crucially eight ahead of third-placed Luxembourg on the same number of games.

It is simple for Martinez's side; a win would guarantee their spot at Euro 2024 with three games in hand, while a draw would be enough if Luxembourg fail to beat Iceland, with the fixture also taking place on Friday.

Portugal will enter this match off the back of a stunning 9-0 win over Luxembourg last month, with Goncalo Inacio, Goncalo Ramos and Diogo Jota all scoring braces in the Group J fixture.

The Iberian side are unbeaten since their famous 1-0 loss to Morocco in the quarter-finals of the 2022 World Cup, and they look well-placed to be a major challenger for next summer's European Championship, with the national side looking to repeat their success from the 2016 tournament.

Portugal have never lost to Slovakia, winning four of the last five meetings between the two sides, including a 1-0 success in the reverse match last month, with Bruno Fernandes netting the winner.

© Reuters

Slovakia are well-placed in the section, sitting second on 13 points, boasting a record of four wins, one draw and one defeat, and they have only actually conceded twice in Group J.

Francesco Calzona's side drew their opening match in the section at home to Luxembourg, which was a surprise, but they beat Bosnia-Herzegovina, Iceland and Liechtenstein in their next three before losing 1-0 at home to Portugal on September 8.

Slovakia were back to winning ways three days later, though, recording a 3-0 victory over Liechtenstein, with the home side scoring three times in the first six matches of that contest.

The Falcons have been present in three major tournaments, competing at the World Cup in 2010, in addition to the European Championship in 2016 and 2020.

Slovakia actually made the last-16 stage of Euro 2016 but were knocked out in the group stage of the 2020 competition, while they failed to qualify for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.

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Team News

© Reuters

Portugal boss Martinez has included teenager Joao Neves in his latest squad, and the in-demand midfielder will hope to be given the opportunity to impress during the team's next two games.

Cristiano Ronaldo's international career looked to be in a difficult place after the last World Cup, but Martinez quickly made it clear that the 38-year-old was central to his plans.

There should be a start at centre-forward for Ronaldo, who was suspended last time out, while Bernardo Silva will also be in the XI, with Jota potentially given the nod on the opposite side over Rafael Leao.

Antonio Silva will continue in the middle of the defence, while Vitinha should feature alongside Fernandes and Joao Palhinha in the middle of midfield.

As for Slovakia, Robert Mak is the leading goalscorer in the squad with 16, and the 32-year-old is expected to feature in the final third of the field on Friday night.

Michal Tomic could again be given the nod at right-back, while Milan Skriniar will again captain the national side from the middle of the defence.

There are not expected to be any surprises when it comes to the midfield, with Ondrej Duda and Stanislav Lobotka set to be joined by Laszlo Benes, who won his 15th cap against Liechtenstein last time out.

Portugal possible starting lineup:
D. Costa; Dalot, A. Silva, Dias, Cancelo; Vitinha, Palhinha, Fernandes; B. Silva, Ronaldo, Jota

Slovakia possible starting lineup:
Dubravka; Tomic, Gyomber, Skriniar, Hancko; Duda, Lobotka, Benes; Mak, Bozenik, Haraslin

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We say: Portugal 2-0 Slovakia

Slovakia are a national team to be respected, and they are more than capable of picking up a strong result on Friday evening. Portugal are on a roll at the moment, though, and we are expecting Martinez's side to make it seven wins from seven in the section courtesy of a comfortable victory.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.

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