Home and Away: Fonte to fire young Portugal to victory

Portugal's in form U21 striker Rui Fonte

It's home and away time, and Jonno Turner has chosen an U21 international and a domestic League Two clash for today's selections...

Portugal is the venue for our first tip of this new week, and all eyes turn to their U21 side, who welcome their Ukrainian counterparts to Lisbon this evening.

Rui Jorge's side line up in this fixture having impressed in their last few ties on their own patch - and just one loss from their last ten home outings will have the Esperancas full of confidence here.

Two clean sheets from their last three on their own patch - and nine goals scored in that time - suggests that the hosts are looking strong at the back, and I think that will play a major part in the outcome of todays game, as they line up against a Ukraine side who have been struggling to find the net of late.

The visitors lost their last outing - a 2-1 loss in Sweden - and will be keen to arrest a slump which has seen them fail to claim victory in five of their last six away from their own country.

Pavlo Yakovenko has seen his charges concede 10 goals in their last half a dozen on the road, and those defensive weaknesses, which have proved their undoing time and time again, still do not appear to have been solved.

And the Molodizhka would certainly not have picked this trip as they desperately attempt to instigate a change in fortunes - against a Portugal side full of momentum and confidence following some impressive performances at home.

Rui Fonte in particular has been hitting the headlines of late with some cracking performances - and the young striker will be looking to add to his three goals from five games here.

Bet 1: Portugal U21 (HOME) @ 1.715/7

Back to more familiar climes now, and Port Vale welcome Oxford United in League Two this evening - looking to continue the good form which has surprised so many this year.

The Valiants sit second in the table following an impressive start to the new campaign - helped in no small part by some cracking goalscoring form from forward Tom Pope.

And Micky Adams will be delighted by the performances shown by his side, who are still under administration, and desperate for them to continue that run of good results here.

But two games without a win on their own patch suggests that the hosts could be susceptible to a loss here - and a 2-0 loss to leaders Gillingham in particular will have knocked confidence down at Vale Park.

Visitors Oxford United started the season full of expectation, but their performances have been mixed so far this campaign, and they find themselves in 19th place in the table.

That is unacceptable for a side who have spent big recently, and should traditionally be challenging for promotion to the third tier, and boss Chris Wilder will know that he is under pressure to find a solution - and quick.

But it's not all doom and gloom for the away side. Three without a loss suggests that they may have turned the corner - and a 4-2 win at third placed Cheltenham last week, albeit in the Football League Trophy, shows that Wilder's side are capable of mixing it with the big boys.

That makes six goals scored in their last three outings, and it's clear that Oxford do have attacking quality in their locker - something they will be keen to make count this evening.

There's no denying that Vale are clear favourites to win this - and rightly so on early form - but one thing we have seen in League Two this year is that anyone can beat anyone, and I think that the away win is overpriced here, considering the guests recent change in fortunes.

Oxford have won three of the last four meetings between these sides - but if you're not feeling so brave today, you might like the look of Oxford to win DRAW NO BET, which is 3.2 at the time of writing.

Bet 2: Oxford United (AWAY) @ 4.47/2