Portugal should prove too strong for struggling Scotland at Hampden on Tuesday night. Roberto Martinez’s side made it three wins from three in Group A1 with a 3-1 win over Poland on Saturday night. The Selecao defeated Scotland 2-1 on matchday two and they should emerge victorious from Tuesday night’s reverse fixture in Glasgow.

Scotland’s wretched run of form continued with a 2-1 defeat to Croatia on Saturday. That means Steve Clarke’s side have claimed top honours from just one of their last 15 matches, coming away empty-handed from 10 of those tussles.  A laboured 2-0 victory over lowly Gibraltar represents Scotland’s solitary success across that 15-game stretch.

To make matters worse, injuries are starting to take their toll on the Scots. That doesn’t bode well ahead of a visit from a star-studded Portugal side who have won 18 of their 23 matches under manager Martinez inside 90 minutes.

While Billy Gilmour is not exactly renowned for sticking the boot in, he merits support to commit one or more fouls on Tuesday night. The Scotland midfielder committed a cynical foul against Croatia on Saturday and consequently had his name taken by the referee.

He also sinned twice against Portugal in Lisbon on matchday two, not to mention he gave away a free-kick against Poland on matchday one. On top of this, Gilmour has already committed a foul when representing Napoli in Serie A this season, despite playing a combined total of just 21 minutes as substitute thus far.

The 23-year-old will have his work cut out on Tuesday night against a Portugal side laced with world class talent. He will likely come up against Bruno Fernandes, who has drawn at least one foul in six of his last seven appearances for Portugal.

Rafael Leao’s pace and dribbling skills makes him a constant threat for opposition defenders, meaning he’s no stranger to being on the receiving end of some rough treatment. The Selecao forward earned his country a free-kick in Poland on Saturday night, and he also secured a combined total of five set-pieces across his four appearances at Euro 2024 earlier this year.

The AC Milan ace has also been fouled eight times across his seven appearances in Serie A this season. Operating on the left side of Portugal’s front three means his direct opponent on Tuesday night will likely be Scotland’s Anthony Ralston, who has averaged one foul per-game in the latest edition of the Nations League.

With Anthony Ralston likely to be tasked with keeping a close eye on the aforementioned Rafael Leao, it makes sense to side with the Scotland defender to tackle his way into trouble on Tuesday night. As already mentioned, Ralston has committed a minimum of one foul in each of Scotland’s three Nations League contests this year. He was also reprimanded by the referee four times over his three appearances at Euro 2024 back in the summer.

It’s also worth noting that Ralston has received a yellow card in two of his last six outings for Scotland. What’s more, he was averaging just over one foul per-game for Celtic in the Scottish Premiership last season.

Even at the age of 39, Cristiano Ronaldo is still scoring goals for his country. The Selacao skipper struck in his side’s 3-1 win over Poland on Saturday night to take his record men’s international goals tally to 133. Ronaldo also scored against both Croatia and Scotland on matchdays one and two respectively, making him an attractive option to hit the back of the net at Hampden.

Scotland are in rotten form right now, with a 2-0 friendly win against Gibraltar their only success across their last 15 matches. That has coincided with Steve Clarke’s side failing to keep a clean sheet in 14 of their last 15 outings, shipping multiple goals in 11 of those matches.

Look to Ruben Neves to commit a minimum of one foul at Hampden Park on Tuesday night. The former Wolves man has never been one to shy away from a tackle, evidenced by the fact that he was booked eight times across his 32 appearances in last season’s Saudi Pro League.

Neves gave away two free-kicks against Poland on Saturday night, and he also had the referee blow his whistle once during last month’s 2-1 win over Scotland. Despite being a bit part player for his country at Euro 2024, Neves still managed to commit three fouls across his four substitute appearances.

He will likely be assigned a shackling job on Scotland talisman Scott McTominay, who has a real knack for earning his country free-kicks. The Scottish attacking midfielder has been fouled a whopping 12 times across his last six appearances on the international stage.

Grant Hanley will relish his battle with legendary Portugal forward Cristiano Ronaldo on Tuesday night. The Scotland centre-half has been a serial offender during the latest Nations League campaign. Hanley was booked after just eight minutes against Croatia on Saturday, and he also committed fouls in the two games prior to that against both Portugal and Poland respectively.

He also committed multiple fouls in each of Scotland’s final two group games at Euro 2024. As such, Hanley looks worth siding with to commit at least one foul on Tuesday night, especially with him likely to be in direct battle with Ronaldo. The Portugal skipper has earned his side a free-kick in each of his last four international outings, including three against Poland last time out.

Andy Robertson is not a player who tends to find himself on the referee’s radar but he looks overpriced to commit a minimum of one foul on Tuesday night. The Scotland skipper is likely to have his hands full with tricky winger Pedro Neto.

Robertson did commit a foul in Scotland’s opening Nations League game at home to Poland, and he also gave away a free-kick against Switzerland at Euro 2024. It’s also worth pointing out that he has sinned in two of his last four appearances for Liverpool, so there is certainly scope for a repeat on Tuesday night.

The aforementioned Neto was fouled during last month’s reverse fixture, despite featuring for just 45 minutes, as was the case in his second-half run out against Turkey at Euro 2024. The Portuguese ace has not been a regular starter in the Premier League for Chelsea this season, however he was earning former club Wolves a shade over one free-kick per-game in the top-flight last term.