Portugal vs Uruguay – World Cup Group H: Their record, injuries and predictions as Ronaldo and his team-mates seek to qualify

CRISTIANO RONALDO and his Portuguese team-mates will be hoping to book their place in the World Cup Round of 16 when they face Uruguay.

The Euro 2016 winners were Group H favorites at the time of the draw.

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But they worked hard for their group opener avoiding a late scare.

Uruguay, meanwhile, played out a draw but showed very little goal threat.

A victory for Portugal would book their place in the round of 16 and the top spot could be confirmed if Ghana hold South Korea.

SunSport take a look at what to expect from Portugal v Uruguay, including our score prediction.

How are they ?

Portugal: They were expected to reach the round of 16 of the tournament, but weren’t as smooth as they would have hoped against Ghana – despite winning 3-2.

They will need the unemployed Ronaldo – recently sacked by Manchester United – to turn up at clutch moments and lead Portugal to another group victory.

Read the full report of the match Portugal vs Ghana…

Uruguay: A bad start for their group, held by South Korea.

Their frontline looked leggy with Luis Suarez in the lead, but Liverpool’s record signing Darwin Nunez was a bright spark.

Read the full report of the match Uruguay vs South Korea…

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Injuries to worry about?

Portugal: Danilo Pereira will be out for the remainder of the group stage after breaking his ribs in training.

This could see veteran Pepe called up by boss Fernando Santos.

Uruguay: Barcelona defender Ronald Araujo is expected to be out, having still not fully recovered from thigh surgery at the end of September.

Luis Suarez will probably be in the lead again.

Who will be the star men?

Portugal: Ronaldo is the obvious star man with the 37-year-old eager to win the World Cup.

If given the chance, Rafael Leao – who scored from the bench against Ghana – will shine on the left side.

Joao Felix also has magic in him.

Uruguay: Suarez and Nunez are the obvious threats, with the latter more likely to disrupt the Portuguese defence.

In midfield, Real Madrid ace Federico Valverde is a powerhouse.

What is face to face?

The two teams have only met three times in their history.

The two have one win each with a third game ending in a draw.

The last meeting of the 2018 World Cup ended with a 2-1 victory for Uruguay.

SunSport Prediction

Portugal 2 Uruguay 1