World Cup 2018: Uruguay vs Portugal prediction, team news and preview as the European champions take on the South Americans

CRISTIANO RONALDO is back at the Fisht Stadium in Sochi where he starred in the stand out game of this competition a 3-3 draw between Portugal and Spain.

He would love to repeat his hat-trick heroics but is up against a tough Uruguay side who just don’t concede goals and have their own firepower in Ederson Cavani and Luis Suarez.

A NATION EXPECTS: After a group stage exit in Brazil much is expected of European Champions Portugal this time.

Uruguay have raised expectations back home with their smooth qualification from the group with an impressive 3-0 win over hosts Russia in their last game.

KEY BATTLES: Uruguay coach Oscar Tabarez says it is down to the team to stop Cristiano Ronaldo but undoubtedly no nonsense veteran centre back Diego Godin will have a say.

But Ronaldo is used to rough treatment and tends to make people pay.

WEAKEST LINKS: Jose Fonte now plies his trade in China after leaving West Ham and is most definitely Portugal’s weak link at the back. It is difficult to find one in Uruguay’s team although Luis Suarez’s temperament is always in question.

LIKELY LINE-UP: Both sides will see one change from their last group games with Goncalo Guedes coming in for Andre SIlva up front with Cristiano Ronaldo for Portugal.

Jose Gimenez returns from injury to replace Sebastian Coates at the back for Uruguay.

Uruguay: Muslera; Caceres, Gimenez, Godin, Laxalt, Nandez, Torreira, Vecino, Bentancur, Cavani, Suarez.

Portugal: Rui Patricio, Cedric, Pepe, Fonte, Raphael Quaresma, William, Adrien, J.Mario, Guedes, Ronaldo.

FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE All the latest action, news, goals and gossip from the World Cup

BEST BET: Cristiano Ronaldo will surely be on the scoreboard, and we can see him scoring first in a 3-1 Portugal win which is offering odds of 40/1 for.

OPTA STATS: 

• This will be the third encounter between Uruguay and Portugal and their first at the World Cup. They haven’t faced each other since July 1972 when they drew 1-1 at Rio de Janeiro’s Maracanã stadium. Portugal are so far unbeaten in their two previous meetings (W1 D1).
• Penalty shoot-outs excluded, Portugal have lost only one of their last 17 games at major tournaments (W8 D8), a 4-0 defeat against Germany at the 2014 World Cup. However, they have lost their last three games in the World Cup knockout stages (1 goal scored, 5 conceded).
• Since the format of the World Cup changed in 1986 to include a round of 16, Uruguay have been eliminated on three of the four occasions they’ve reached that stage, losing in 1986, 1990 and 2014, but progressing in 2010 against South Korea.
• Uruguay will be looking to win their opening four games at a World Cup tournament for only the second time after 1930 when they won the first ever World Cup.
• Uruguay are yet to concede a single goal at the 2018 World Cup, facing just six shots on target in three games – the last South American team not to concede in their first four matches of a World Cup tournament were Brazil in 1986.
• All five of Uruguay’s goals at the 2018 World Cup have been scored from set-pieces (3 from corners, 1 from direct free-kick and 1 from indirect free-kick). Meanwhile, three of Portugal’s last four goals have come from outside the box.

• Luis Suarez has scored seven World Cup goals for Uruguay, second only to Oscar Miguez (8) – Suarez scored a brace against South Korea in his only previous World Cup appearance in the round of 16 back in 2010.
• Cristiano Ronaldo has so far failed to score a single goal for Portugal in the knockout stages of the World Cup: 424 minutes, 0 goals. However, he did score a hat-trick against Spain in his previous game at Sochi’s Fisht Stadium.
• If he plays, Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo (37) will equal Bastian Schweinsteiger (38) as the player with the most appearances at World Cups + European Championships.
• This is Fernando Santos’ fourth major tournament in a row as manager. He’s reached the knockout stages on each previous occasion: Euro 2012 quarter-finals & World Cup 2014 round of 16 with Greece; Euro 2016 winners and at the very least World Cup 2018 round of 16 with Portugal.