Portugal – Azerbaijan: Preview and Highest Odds

Unsurprisingly, Wolverhampton Wanderers goalkeeper Rui Patricio – Portugal’s ninth most-capped player – will not be joining up with the team after the horrific head injury he sustained against Liverpool earlier this month. Anthony Lopes should therefore be given the nod in goal, but there ought to be some Premier League representation in the backline with Manchester City duo Joao Cancelo and Ruben Dias in line for starts. Pepe, William Carvalho, Trincao and Nelson Semedo are all notable absentees for Santos’s side, and Ronaldo is set to lead the line despite pressure from prolific Eintracht Frankfurt forward Andre Silva. Azerbaijan captain Maksim Medvedev was late to arrive at his team’s training camp due to personal reasons, but the Qarabag right-back has now joined up with the squad and will be ready to lead his side out onto the Turin turf on Wednesday. Medvedev scored the winner in his side’s only triumph of 2020 – a 1-0 victory against Cyprus – and at 31 years of age, he is the oldest player in De Biasi’s setup for the qualifiers. Uncapped forward Anatoliy Nuriyev is the sole player in the team who does not ply his trade in Azerbaijan, with the 24-year-old currently on the books at Ukrainian Premier League outfit Mynai.