Iran may be likely to head out the tournament, but they know they have the firepower to produce a major surprise. With a lot of striking strength in their side, they should feel pretty comfortable about being able to make chances. Can the Iran defence keep the enigmatic Cristiano Ronaldo quiet, though?
Iran News
Iran will be looking to try and at least get a draw, and we expect them to go quite solid with that in mind. Omid Ebrahimi will likely play, while Alireza Jahanbakhsh will be the main outlet in attack. His pace and dribbling quality is outstanding and he could offer Team Melli an outlet.
Roozbeh Cheshmi, though, will miss out most likely. This will leave Iran more likely to try and find some kind of solid formation. We expect them to look sit and break, instead leaving Portugal to have the ball.
Portugal News
Portugal, though, aren’t best suited to being the dominant party in games. They left Morocco with the ball last time out, and nearly were punished for it in a big way. Bruno Fernandes will probably come in to try give them a killer ball, with Ronaldo likely to try and play on the break.
However, with Iran likely to sit in and leave them to make the chances, there may not be the space that Portugal like to play in. with Raphael Guerreiro likely to play, too, he’ll need to show more than he did in a shocking display against Morocco.
Verdict
Portugal will win, we think, but it won’t be pretty. Both sides are quite similar in that they have firepower on the break. With both sides likely to try let the other give up spaces, it’s going to be about who makes the most of the few chances they get.
Let’s take another looks at Gareth Bale’s Champions League final wondergoal, in the Real Madrid vs Liverpool game. It has to be one of the best goals of all time, and what a time to score it.
As Chelsea try to keep their UEFA Champions League hopes alive, they travel to Wales to play Swansea City. The Jacks are in a poor run of form, with a solitary win in their last six. They’ll be hoping for something here, but Chelsea – majorly improved in the last two – will smell blood here.
Home News
The home side will be reliant on their midfield to keep things tight again. The trio of Andy King, Ki Sung-yeung and Tom Carroll provides them with ball playing skills, with the hope that they can play around the midfield duo of N’Golo Kante and Cesc Fabregas.
Up front, they’ll be looking to Jordan Ayew to produce the goods, with Sam Clucas and Andre Ayew looking to make the most of their pace on the flanks. If they are to get anything here, though, they need Alfie Mawson and Mike van der Hoorn to show up and put in an imperious performance after a shellacking in their last match.
Away News
Meanwhile, the Blues rock into Wales looking a little light at the back. Marcos Alonso sits out this one, as does David Luiz and Ethan Ampadu. The trio of defenders leaves Antonio Conte a touch light at the back, and he’ll need to get creative at the back. However, with Chelsea’ propensity for dominating the ball and their ability to get in the opposition box, we expect them to push Swansea really hard for the three points here.
Verdict
It’s hard to say, but we think a draw could be on the cards. Chelsea have handled tough matches like this with ease recently, though, and will want to put the pressure on Liverpool and Tottenham with a positive result. With Liverpool playing bogey team Stoke we suspect they’ll get out of this one with a positive result.