Portugal can get amongst the goals again.

By Jonathan Turner

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Betting Box Tipping Guide

BETTING BOX
FIXED ODDS
	2.75pts on more than two goals in Portugal v Iran at 10/11 (Stan James).	Big incentive for both sides to go on the attack here.

Going for over two goals at 10/11 looks the best bet in Saturday's Group D clash between Portugal and Iran in Frankfurt.

The general feeling is that the soaring temperatures in Germany have meant goals have been at a premium in the early kick-off games but that's simply not the case.

In the opening set of fixtures there were 39 goals in 16 games which works out at 2.44 per game but that rises to 2.6 in the five 1400BST matches.

And even at this early stage of the tournament we're getting towards must-win territory for certain teams - with Iran coming into that category here.

They held their own for over 75 minutes against a useful-looking Mexico side in their opening game before their defence self-destructed by conceding two goals in as many minutes to lose 3-1.

They had only themselves to blame for that defeat because they only really began to struggle when they sat back and started to look content with a draw.

The late drama in that game was all in stark contrast to Portugal's curtain-raiser with Angola when Pauleta should have given Luiz Felipe Scolari's side the lead after 15 seconds but only had to wait three more minutes for the breakthrough, though that proved to be the only goal of the game.

Given the history of that match-up it would be unwise to read too much into it, with three points all that mattered.

That was illustrated by Scolari's first substitution which saw him take off the outstanding Cristiano Ronaldo - much to our dismay after we tipped him to be man of the match!

But the Portuguese have come in for plenty of flak back home for not claiming a more clear-cut success and Saturday's game against an Iran side which will be forced to go on the offensive gives them the perfect opportunity to answer their critics.

Ronaldo and Simao give Scolari's side the width while Luis Figo bucked the trend of big-name veteran players failing to deliver at this World Cup with a man of the match display against Angola.

Throw in the fact that playmaker Deco's creativity could again be on show following his recovery from a foot injury and this is a team that promises goals.

That was certainly the case during qualifying when Portugal scored no fewer than 35 in their 12 games.

And it's also been a recurring theme of recent Iran games - with every one of their last five matches featuring at least four goals.

Indeed the last four of those have seen them concede at least twice and with those defensive problems resurfacing in this tournament it's hard to see them keeping Portugal at bay.