Portugal's defence of their UEFA Nations League crown continues on Wednesday when they welcome an out-of-sorts Sweden side to the Estadio Jose Alvalade for the fourth round of fixtures in Group A3.

The reigning Nations League champions played out a 0-0 draw with World Cup holders France at the weekend, and Fernando Santos's side currently occupy top spot in the group with seven points to show from a possible nine thus far.

With Sweden travelling to Lisbon without a single point from their first three games in the 2020-21 tournament, Portugal will no doubt be confident of returning to winning ways as they look to fend off France in the race for finals qualification.

Here, Sports Mole takes a look at how Portugal could line up for their midweek showdown with Sweden.

Out: Cristiano Ronaldo (coronavirus)

The Nations League holders must contend with a quick turnaround in fixtures, but Santos will not be taking this game lightly even though he has plenty of options for change for the meeting with the group's basement side.

The good news for the Portugal boss is that his team came out of their goalless stalemate with France unscathed, but the hosts will have to make do without their star man in Cristiano Ronaldo, who returned a positive coronavirus test earlier this week.

Rui Patricio is a shoo-in to start in goal and earn his 90th cap for the national team, with Anthony Lopes withdrawing after also testing positive for coronavirus, although all other players have returned negative tests prior to the meeting with Sweden.

The Wolverhampton Wanderers shot-stopper is likely to be protected by the centre-back pairing of Ruben Dias and Pepe once again, but Joao Cancelo could come in for Nelson Semedo on the right-hand side should Santos opt to freshen things up only three days after a challenging bout with France.

In the middle of the park, Danilo Pereira and Bruno Fernandes will look to keep their spots, and the midfield three could be completed by Joao Moutinho - who was named amongst the substitutes for Sunday's encounter with the world champions - which could see William Carvalho drop to the bench.

Up top, Ronaldo boasts an impressive seven goals in this fixture, but after testing positive for COVID-19, the Juventus man will miss out and Diogo Jota is the obvious option to deputise on the left-hand side.

Jota will likely form part of a front three with Bernardo Silva and Joao Felix, who both featured from the first whistle at the weekend, although Andre Silva also has every chance of spearheading the Portugal attack.

Written by
Ben Knapton