Time away for Cristiano Ronaldo should recharge him, Portugal past Armenia with ease on ESPN Saturday

2015-Armenia-vs-Portugal-(UEFA)-Betting-Lines

Lowly Armenia has just one point to show for its work in four matches played in Euro 2016 qualifying to date.

If that tally doesn't change on Saturday against Portugal, the Armenians will very likely be formally eliminated from Euro 2016.

ODDS ANALYSIS

A multi-goal victory is most certainly the expected result here for the Portuguese. They are the -220 favorites on the moneyline to take this match down, and they are favored by a full ball on the Asian handicap at -130 vig.

Armenia can be had at a whopping 6 to 1, which would be a great winning price for sure, but a tough one to fathom actually cashing in.

QUOTE TO NOTE

"There were more positives than negatives, but some things were missing. We didn't move the ball. The team was okay, but we weren't aggressive." – Portuguese manager Fernando Santos following a shocking loss to the Cape Verde Islands in a friendly match in March

RECENT FORM

That stunner for Portugal listed above could have caused riots in Estoril, as the fans there were none too pleased with the 2-0 defeat. Of course, it should be noted that there were nine changes from the regular lineup which Santos likes to throw out there, and men like Cristiano Ronaldo were notably not in the lineup.

Prior to that, Portugal had won its previous four matches, including beating Argentina at Old Trafford in a high-profile friendly.

Still, Portugal hasn't won a match by more than one goal since beating Ireland in a 2014 friendly match at MetLife Stadium.

Armenia's last win in a match came against the UAE in a friendly match, and that came just over a year ago. The club has lost its last three overall, though a 2-1 loss at Albania and a 1-0 loss at Portugal in its last two matches were probably better than expected.

Portugal enters this match with nine points in four fixtures to top Group I, while Armenia sits at the foot of the table with just one point, a draw from Serbia. With just four fixtures to go and with six points to make up to catch third place Albania, Armenia knows that it has to get completely unexpected wins in a real hurry.

ANALYSIS AND PREDICTION

Armenia's side might be limited in this match, as striker Yura Movsisyan is still dealing with a foot injury which cost him the end of his season at Spartak Moscow.

Still, Borussia Dortmund standout Henrikh Mkhitaryan and others such as Robert Arzumanyan and Roman Berezovsky will be capable of at least making life slightly tougher on the Portuguese than most would figure.

The key man is Cristiano Ronaldo, though. The Real Madrid playmaker took some time away from the beautiful game at the end of Real's season in La Liga, and he should be back and ready to make an impact here in a match which cannot be overlooked against Armenia.

The Portuguese are going to want to make sure that they have the goods to get through this group without any problems or any possibilities of having to go into a playoff, and the best way of doing that is to make sure they do their job and put away a team which should be dismissed with ease.

A solid 2-0 score line seems to be just about right to us.

Portugal 2, Armenia 0

BookMaker has live Euro 2016 odds for every clash of the season. You can find a moneyline price on Portugal of -220 right now! BookMaker is also going to have multiple betting options available for this nationally-televised match. Live wagering during commercials offers an adjusted moneyline, total and spread. Log in and start gambling during the soccer game now!

Access live betting lines from your mobile device at BookMaker Sportsbook! You can wager on sporting events as they unfold on television with BookMaker’s live betting platform. Real-time spreads, totals, props and moneyline odds are all available by clicking here, so start betting with BookMaker today! The fixture between Portugal and Armenia will take place at 12:00 p.m. ET on Saturday, June 13, 2015 at the Republican Stadium in Yerevan, Armenia. The game will be broadcast live on ESPN.

Back to Top