Portugal v Armenia preview
Portugal will attempt to clinch World Cup qualification without the suspended Cristiano Ronaldo when they face Armenia on Sunday.
Ronaldo was sent off as Portugal lost their penultimate qualifier 2-0 to Republic of Ireland.
Portugal’s record goalscorer saw red for elbowing Dara O’Shea as they crumbled to a shock defeat in Dublin.
But Portugal have a two-point lead over Hungary, who face Ireland, in Group F and will be sure of a place in the finals in North America by seeing off a team that only has three points to their name during qualification.
“Sadness is an opportunity,” Portugal coach Roberto Martinez said.
“We are playing in front of our fans against a team we respect, but they’re a team against whom we want to demonstrate our level and secure qualification.
“Armenia are a team that tries to play. They’re very intelligent and have creative ability. Defensively, they have a solid back five. They’re a very competitive team, which we respect a lot. I really like the coach’s work.”
For their part, Armenia boss Yeghishe Melikyan does not believe the absence of Ronaldo makes the challenge they face in Porto any easier.
“Portugal aren’t just Ronaldo – the entire team is world-class,” Melikyan said.
“We’re very happy to have the opportunity to play against such opponents. It will be a huge experience for us. How can we experiment against Portugal? Let them experiment – we’ll take advantage of that. We will use everything we have.”
Portugal v Armenia team news
Goncalo Ramos is likely to lead the line for Portugal in Ronaldo’s absence.
“We like to work with two per position. Goncalo [Ramos] is a natural striker. He’s already had some very good moments with the national team,” Martinez said of Ronaldo’s likely replacement.
“He’s the striker with the highest average minutes per goal in competitions. He’s a very important player to have in the national team. I can’t talk about the starting XI, but he’ll be important.”
Armenia were beaten by Hungary 1-0 on Thursday and Melikyan may bring on Artur Serobyan as part of potential changes from that defeat.
Melikyan said of his team selection in that loss: “I don’t think we made a mistake with the line-up, but the substitutes improved our play. That’s what substitutions are for: a fresh player coming up against tired defenders. It doesn’t mean they would’ve played the same way from the start. Before they went on, I said a few words to motivate them – and it worked.”
He added of Serboyan: “He definitely deserves to start and may start against Portugal. He is not inferior to anyone. The choice against Hungary was more tactical – we needed Artur on the bench to strengthen the game later.”
Portugal v Armenia predicted lineups
Portugal starting XI: D. Costa; N Semedo, Inacio, Dias, Dalot; J. Neves, Fernandes, Vitinha; Bernardo, G. Ramos, Leao
Armenia starting XI: Avagyan; Piloyan, Muradyan, Mkrtchyan, Tiknizyan; Hovhannisyan, Muradyan, Spertsyan; Sevikyan, Ranos, Shaghoyan.
How to watch Portugal v Armenia: Live stream, TV channel
Kick-off on Sunday is at 14:00 BST (09:00 ET / 06:00 PT), with live coverage in the UK on Amazon Prime PPV, which charges £2.49 for the game.
Portugal v Armenia stats
Even without Ronaldo, Portugal have more than enough quality to get the job done and book their place in the finals.
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