Portugal will be without Cristiano Ronaldo and Fabio Coentrao for their game against Azerbaijan, as the visitors look to get a simple win and correct their struggles so far in their qualification campaign.
Azerbaijan vs. Portugal, 2014 World Cup qualifying: Preview and TV schedule
A Portugal side depleted with injuries and suspensions will hope for no more surprises as they bid to end their stuttering form with a win over Azerbaijan.
Martin Rose
Ronaldo's yellow card during the 3-3 draw with Israel leaves the Portuguese without their best player, who were already missing Nani, and now Coentrao, who scored a late equaliser against Israel, looks set to miss out with a minor injury too. Raul Meireles is also absent with flu, so Carlos Martins and Silvestre Varela are all likely to start.
Portugal have not won a game since September, in their home game against Azerbaijan, and have struggled throughout their campaign against lesser opponents such as Northern Ireland as well as Israel. They will hope for an easy win here, but they may not get it - the hosts have picked up draws with both of those sides, and even Russia could only manage a 1-0 victory over them at home.
Match date\time: 5 pm UTC, 1 pm ET
Venue: Tofiq Bəhramov adına Respublika Stadionu, Baku, Azerbaijan
TV: ESPN Deportes (U.S. Spanish), Sportsnet Regional (Canada), RTP 1 (Portugal)
Online: ESPN3 (U.S)
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