Fernando Santos' side have won three of their last four fixtures, with only France getting the better of them. Portugal's only other defeat since the 2018 World Cup came against Ukraine in 2019, and they will fancy their chances of victory this evening.
Azerbaijan are hoping to qualify for the World Cup as an independent nation for the first time in their history, and they will look to their recent record as a source of encouragement. Gianni de Biasi's troops have drawn their last four matches 0-0, and if they can pick up a point tonight, it would be some achievement.
PORTUGAL (4-4-2): Anthony Lopes; Joao Cancelo, Ruben Dias, Domingos Duarte, Nuno Mendes; Bernardo Silva, Joao Moutinho, Ruben Neves, Pedro Neto; Andre Silva, Cristiano Ronaldo.
SUBS: Rui Silva, Renato Sanches, Bruno Fernandes, Diogo Jota, Jose Fonte, Jose Sa, Joao Palhinha, Luis Neto, Joao Felix, Rafa, Cedric Soares, Sergio Oliveira.
AZERBAIJAN (4-4-2): Sahruddin Mahammadaliyev; Maksim Medvedev, Elvin Badalov, Badavi Huseynov, Anton Krivotsyuk; Abbas Huseynov, Emin Mahmudov, Vuqar Mustafayev, Azer Salahli; Mahir Emreli, Ali Ghorbani.
SUBS: Sartan Taskin, Namiq Alasgarov, Elvin Cefarquliyev, Ramil Seydaev, Anatoliy Nuriyev, Ismayil Ibrahimli, Bahlul Mustafazade, Mekhti Dzhenetov, Emil Balayev, Aleksey Isaev, Tamkin Xalilzade, Amil Yunanov.
Lopes gets a start in goal for Portugal, with regular number one Rui Patricio still recovering from a head injury. Manchester City duo Dias and Cancelo line up in defence, while Santos is without Pepe, William Carvalho, Trincao and Nelson Semedo. Despite linking up late with the squad, Azerbaijan captain Medvedev is able to start.
Portugal have won five of their last six games against Azerbaijan, with their only draw coming in qualifying for Euro 2000.
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