Saturday Euro 2016 Croatia vs Portugal – Preview
June 25, 2016 21:00pm – Stade Bollaert-Delelis, Lens Agglo
Round of 16
Recent Form (all comps)
Croatia: WDWWW
Portugal: DDDWL
Group D winners Croatia will be hoping to continue the form they showed in their Tuesday night win over Spain when they take on third-placed Group F side Portugal in Lens on Saturday night.
Both teams remain unbeaten in the tournament although Portugal have yet to record a win, having drawn all three of their group games. Thanks to the new format, three points was enough to send Cristiano Ronaldo and his teammates through to the knockout stages.
Croatia were much more convincing in the group stages, having won their games against Turkey and Spain and drawn with the Czech Republic. On route to the last 16 they scored five goals from 50 attempts and conceded three.
Portugal completed 660 passes more than Croatia in their three group stage games and had 69 shots on goal. However, their wastefulness cost them in the end, as they could not muster a win. Having scraped through to the knockout phase by the skin of their teeth, they will now be looking to up their game against one of the tournament’s in-form teams.
Key Facts
- Portugal have attempted more shots than other team
- Croatia have completed 18 tackles to Portugal’s 5
- Portugal have had an average of 61% possession throughout the tournament
- Croatia have hit the woodwork three times in this tournament, Portugal twice
Prediction
With Ronaldo finally finding his scoring touch in the final group game, Portugal have reason to be a bit more optimistic ahead of this game.
Unfortunately, Croatia also have momentum on their side after beating reigning champions Spain in their last match. They have also have much better options from the bench should this game go to extra time.
You can back Croatia to qualify for the quarter-finals at 8/11 with Betfair.
Betfair is our recommended bookmaker for all your Euro 2016 bets.