Portugal vs France Preview: How to Watch on TV, Live Stream, Kick Off Time & Team News

The champions of Europe take on the world champions for the second time in the space of a month in the UEFA Nations League on Saturday night, as France travel to Portugal.

The two sides met in October in a closely contested 0-0 draw at the Parc des Princes, with Cristiano Ronaldo coming closest to breaking the deadlock when he hit the post. Both teams have ten points from their opening four Nations League fixtures, meaning they have qualified already but are battling for top spot.

Where to Watch

When is kick off? Saturday 14 November
What time is kick off? 19:45 (GMT)
Where is it played? Estadio da Luz, Lisbon
TV Channel/Live stream: Sky Sports Football (UK)
Referee: Tobias Stieler (GER)

Team News

Portugal come into the tie in fantastic form with a full strength squad. Their friendly fixture against Andorra on Wednesday saw them rest all their regular starters, but Cristiano Ronaldo and Joao Felix still got on the scoresheet with Bernardo Silva influential from the bench too in a 7-0 win.

Manager Fernando Santos revealed after the game that only three out of Ronaldo, Felix, Silva and Liverpool star Diogo Jota will start the game against France, while the expectation is Portugal will start a completely different side to the one from midweek.

France's midweek friendly didn't go so well as they were beaten comfortably at home by lowly Finland despite the likes of Paul Pogba and Olivier Giroud starting, while Anthony Martial and Antoine Griezmann played more than half an hour each.

Wassim Ben Yedder tested positive for COVID-19 on Thursday and will miss France's remaining games during this break, while Kylian Mbappe is a major doubt for the clash with injury.

Predicted Lineups

Portugal: Patricio; Cancelo, Pepe, Dias, Guerreiro; Danilo, Carvalho, Fernandes; Jota, Felix, Ronaldo

France: Lloris; Pavard, Kimpembe, Varane, Hernandez; Kante, Rabiot, Pogba; Griezmann, Giroud, Martial

Recent Form

Portugal are arguably one of the best international teams in recent history under Fernando Santos. Having won Euro 2016 and the UEFA Nations League in 2019 they've followed it up by winning nine of their next 12 games, conceding just five goals in that time and keeping five consecutive clean sheets recently.

France won the World Cup in 2018 and have seen a bit of a drop off since. They've failed to beat Turkey twice and lost to Finland in midweek. The quality their squad has means they should be winning games more convincingly than they do, but they are still getting results where they need them.

Here's how each side has fared in their last five games.

Portugal

Portugal 7-0 Andorra (11/11)
Portugal 3-0 Sweden (14/10)
France 0-0 Portugal (11/10)
Portugal 0-0 Spain (7/10)
Sweden 0-2 Portugal (8/9)

France

France 0-2 Finland (11/11)
Croatia 1-2 France (14/10)
France 0-0 Portugal (11/10)
France 7-1 Ukraine (7/10)
France 4-2 Croatia (8/9)

Prediction

This will arguably be the best contested game throughout this international break. Both sides have fantastic depth in their squads and generally perform best against other top sides.

Portugal's solid defensive structure should be enough to keep France at bay barring a moment of magic from one of their several star players, while France's shaky form of late will give the likes of Ronaldo and Felix plenty of encouragement in front of goal.

With the added home advantage in their favour, Santos' side should be confident of coming away with a victory as they look to retain their Nations League crown.

Prediction: Portugal 2-1 France