Portugal are aiming to make it three wins on the bounce at the beginning of their 2024/25 UEFA Nations League campaign when they visit Poland on Saturday night.

The inaugural winners of the Nations League in 2018/19, Portugal were still reliant on Cristiano Ronaldo’s goals to help them secure 2-1 victories over Croatia and then Scotland during the September international break. The five-time Ballon d’Or winner now has 132 goals for his country.

Poland are similarly dependent on their ageing forward to fire them to victory in the form of Barcelona star Robert Lewandowski, who scored from the spot in the recent and late 3-2 win over Scotland. However, he was unable to find the net in a tame 1-0 defeat away at Croatia in the following match.

Portugal boast the upper hand in past meetings, winning six of the 13 previous clashes. The two nations were drawn in the same group in the 2018/19 Nations League where Portugal were crowned champions, with Poland falling to a 3-2 defeat and securing a 1-1 draw across the two clashes.

Here is 90min’s guide to Portugal’s battle with Poland this weekend in League A.

Poland vs Portugal H2H Record (Last Five Games)

Current form (all competitions)

Poland goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny retired after Euro 2024 from both club and international football but has since come out of retirement for a brief spell with Barcelona. However, he’s still not available to be selected by Michal Probierz.

Szczesny’s new Barcelona teammate Lewandowski is included in October’s squad after a fantastic goalscoring run at the start of the 2024/25 season, with Arsenal defender Jakub Kiwior and Inter summer signing Piotr Zielinski are also involved.

Michael Ameyaw, Maxi Oyedele, and Mateusz Skrzypczak could make their debuts after being called up to the senior squad, but Adam Buksa and Mateusz Wieteska miss out through injury.

Poland predicted lineup vs Portugal (5-3-2): Skorupski; Kaminski, Walukiewicz, Bednarek, Kiwior, Zalewski; Szymanski, Urbanski, Zielinski; Piatek, Lewandowski.

Roberto Martinez has included a few fresh faces in his Portugal squad, with Farense goalkeeper Ricardo Velha and Mallorca midfielder Samu Costa making the cut. Renato Veiga of Chelsea could also make his debut, with his club teammates Joao Felix and Pedro Neto involved as well.

Ronaldo has been selected once again as he continues his legendary international career and he will be expecting to start against Poland. Liverpool’s Diogo Jota and Milan’s Rafael Leao will provide attacking support for the veteran.

Sporting CP duo Pedro Goncalves and 17-year-old Geovany Quenda have missed out after featuring in September’s squad, while Paris Saint-Germain forward Goncalo Ramos is out injured.

Portugal predicted lineup vs Poland (4-3-3): Costa; Dalot, A. Silva, Dias, Mendes; B. Silva, Palhinha, Fernandes; Neto, Ronaldo, Leao.

Portugal have made a perfect if slightly unconvincing start to their Nations League campaign, edging past Croatia and leaving it late to beat Scotland in their opening games. They’ve seldom blown opposition away over the last six months and Saturday is unlikely to be a hefty victory.

They will be made to work hard for three points against a stubborn Poland side that like to defend deep and limit space. Probierz’s men have the individual quality to cause issues if Portugal are complacent.

However, Ronaldo and co. should secure a third successive win to extend their lead atop their group in League A, with their attacking firepower and midfield ingenuity likely too much for the Polish rearguard.

Prediction: Poland 0-2 Portugal

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