England Women suffered a few disappointments in their 2023 UEFA Women’s Nations League campaign, but they have their eyes on a successful defence of their European title in Switzerland in the summer and should be confident about making a winning start to 2025 when they travel to Portimao to take on Portugal on Friday.
Portugal Women v England Women betting tips and predictions
England to win to nil - 11/10
This year will be all about a successful defence of the Euros for the England Women’s team and the latest series of Nations League matches will give Sarina Wiegman’s Lionesses excellent opportunities to ease into some strong form before they head to Switzerland in July.
England did have a few issues in their last Nations League campaign when they lost in the Netherlands and Belgium, and they have a date with destiny next week when they entertain the team who beat them in the World Cup final, Spain, at Wembley.
But this looks more of a straightforward assignment as Portugal, while they dropped just four points in their Euros qualification group, lost five of their six games in this competition to France, Norway and Austria in 2023 and may struggle to lay a hand on the Lionesses.
England have conceded just one goal in their last four away internationals and that was a penalty against France when a 2-1 victory in Saint-Etienne got their qualification campaign back on track after a shaky start.
They also kept clean sheets in a draw against the USA and in a 1-0 win over Switzerland when Grace Clinton’s goal gave them a Bramall Lane victory, so it is worth chancing that they can come through this one by winning with their shutout intact.
England-England half-time/full-time - 20/21
England have had the odd wobble since they fell at the last hurdle at the World Cup, but their defeats have tended to be against teams with greater international pedigree than the Portuguese opponents they face on Friday.
And the Lionesses can usually be relied upon to hit top gear early in matches, which means the 20/21 available on them to win the match having led at half-time looks worth taking in this instance.
Such a scenario has occurred in 10 of the 18 games Wiegman’s side have faced since they lost the World Cup final to Spain.
And while they have had the odd blip - like the 4-3 defeat to Germany when they fell behind to three early goals and their battle back from 2-0 down to beat the Netherlands last season, those slips tend to occur more regularly against high-class opponents.
Portugal do not appear as strong as either of those two sides so we can expect England to take the game by the scruff of the neck early on and see it through.
Alessia Russo to score at any time - 11/8
Wiegman was forced to draft Chloe Kelly into her England squad, having originally stated that she didn’t think the on-loan Arsenal forward had played enough recent football following some behind-the-scenes issues at her parent club Manchester City.
Whether she starts after one substitute for the Gunners is up for debate, but her team-mate Alessia Russo looks set to play a more dominant role and she looks a good bet to get herself on the scoresheet.
Russo is enjoying an excellent season for Arsenal and has scored in seven of her last nine appearances for Renee Slegers side, including the 5-0 win they enjoyed over north London rivals Tottenham on Sunday.
The 26-year-old has also been a solid performer on the European stage too, scoring four goals in six UEFA Women’s Champions League group-stage matches and she will be keen to lay down a marker with places up for grabs in the squad hoping for more Euros glory in Switzerland.
She has been scoring so consistently of late that there looks a strong chance she will make her mark in Portimao.
Read more football betting tips and predictions on site.
Portugal Women v England Women odds
Portugal Women - 6/1
Draw - 15/4
England Women - 1/3
View the full market and more odds for Portugal Women v England Women on site.
This article was written by a partner sports writer via Spotlight Sports Group. All odds displayed on this page were correct at the time of writing and are subject to withdrawal or change at any time.
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