Hungary vs Portugal– Preview and Prediction

A luckless Portugal are in desperate need of a win when they take on Hungary in their final Euro 2016 Group F match at the on Wednesday.

Portugal were held to a draw in each in their two matches in Group F so far, they were unlucky in the latest 0-0 draw against Austria. Cristiano Ronaldo is once again in limelight after missing a penalty and a number of wasted free kicks. But Fernando Santos and his men could take plenty of positives from the performance and sure know a repeat of the same will see them through against Hungary.

The Magical Magyars fought back to draw level against Iceland in the closing stages of the game after going down to a penalty by Gylfi Sigurdsson in the first half. Hungary controlled the match but were kept at bay by a stubborn Iceland defense for majority of the game. With 4 points they are at the top of the group and they are guaranteed a third placed finish at all cost.

Portugal must win against Hungary to stand any chance of going through to the knockouts. A draw here will place them third in the table and chances to progress are very slim. Hungary on the other hand won’t get hurt by a defeat here, their four points means that they have a better chance of progressing as one of the best third placed teams, if Iceland win their fixture against Austria. If Austria wins, Hungary will finish second in the group F standings.

Hungary: Team News

Hungary head coach Bernd Storck will miss the defender Attila Fiola through injury and there are no other injury concerns or suspensions.

Strock is expected to revert back to 4-14-1 formation from the 4-3-3 he used against Iceland.

Hungary: Predicted Line-up (4-1-4-1)

Kiraly – Kadar, Guzmics, Juhasz, Lang – Gera, Nagy – Dzsudzsak, Kleinheisser, Nemeth – Szalai.

Portugal Team News:

Fernando Santos has a fully fit squad at his disposal and may want to make changes after witnessing his side misfire in the 0-0 draw against Austria. He has very little options in the attack and as a reason the line-up is expected to remain the same.

Portugal: Predicted Line-up (4-4-2)

Rui Patricio – Vieirinha, Pepe, Carvalho, Guerreiro – Gomez, Moutinho, Carvalho, Quaresma – Nani, Ronaldo.

Hungary vs Portugal: Head-to-Head Stats

Portugal are unbeaten in the 10 matches played against Hungary so far, with 7 wins and 3 draws.
Portugal has a 100% win record in competitive matches against Hungary in 5 meetings so far.
The teams have met once in the final round of a tournament, Portugal winning 3-1 during World Cup 1996.
Hungary vs Portugal: Head-to-Head Stats

Portugal are making their sixth consecutive Euro Cup appearance and seventh in total and never failed to go through the group stages. This record is about to break if they do not lift their game against Hungary. There are no complaints about the way they are playing, but the finishing must improve and if it does we may see a plethora of goals on Wednesday evening.

Portugal had won in each of the 5 competitive matches against Hungary and I expect the same outcome from this Group F encounter. And this will be enough to fire Portugal top of the group.
Tips
Portugal Over 1.5 goals.
Portugal to Win at HT.