Portugal U21 vs Poland U21 Prediction: Portuguese can build on opening game draw here

Neither Portugal U21 nor Poland U21 will be delighted at their opening results with one point between them, which puts even more pressure on them heading into Saturday's match. 4seven will be showing the game live in the UK, with kick-off set for 20:00.

Dan Childs previews this encounter for us and is not expecting a glut of goalmouth action as we check out his Portugal U21 vs Poland U21 Predictions...

Portugal have never won the European Under-21 Championship, but they performed well in Wednesday's 0-0 draw against France and will be aiming to put maximum points on the board when taking on sectional basement boys Poland at Stadion Sihot in Trencin on Saturday evening. 

The Portuguese qualified in good style - winning nine of 10 matches - and played to a decent level against the French, who were seen as their main rivals for Group C supremacy. 

Poland made the short trip to Slovakia with high hopes of pushing France and Portugal for a top-two finish, but they have their backs against the wall after a 2-1 loss to Georgia. 

The Poles never really got to grips with the Georgians and they paid the price when Vasilios Gordeziani's 94th minute goal condemned them to defeat. 

Team news 

Geovany Quenda suffered a knock during Wednesday's 0-0 draw against France and was substituted in the 60th minute. 

Flavio Nazinho was a half-time substitute for fellow defender Rafael Rodrigues and is pushing for elevation to the starting XI, while Eduardo Quaresma and Fabio Silva had to withdraw from the squad due to injuries. 

Poland head coach Adam Majewski may be pondering changes after the 2-1 loss to Georgia. Zagłębie Lubin attacking midfielder Tomasz Pienko and towering New York Red Bulls centre-forward Wiktor Bogacz came off the bench against the Georgians and will be hoping for more minutes as the Poles try to keep their quarter-final hopes alive. 

Portugal U21 vs Poland U21 Odds

Portugal are 2/5 to register their first win of the tournament, while Poland can be backed at 6/1 to secure a shock success. 

Neither team would benefit much from a draw which is available to back at 7/2. 

Over 2.5 goals is quoted at 4/7, while under 2.5 can be backed at 5/4. 

Poland to win and under 3.5 goals @ 5/4

Portugal could feel hard done by after being held to a 0-0 draw against France, but they will have taken a lot of positives from the game and can follow by defeating Poland in Trencin. 

Rui Jorge's side pressed high against the French and had some excellent chances.

They are a team who could grow in confidence and seem to have greater quality than Poland, who were massively disappointing in their 2-1 loss to Georgia. 

The Poles will have to play with some attacking intent, but they could leave themselves open against Portugal, who look a solid wager to win a fairly low-scoring game. 

Roger Fernandes to score the first goal @ 11/2 

Braga's 19-year-old winger Roger Fernandes was given a massive vote of confidence by head coach Rui Jorge when handed his Portugal U21 debut for the 0-0 draw against France. 

Fernandes was a livewire in the opening half and missed a couple of chances to get on the scoresheet. 

He should be better for the experience and looks an overpriced 11/2 shot to break the deadlock against Poland. 

Offers

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