Portugal 1 - 2 Serbia

The number of clean sheets, or matches a team has without conceding a single goal, in a competition is a strong indicator of how well their defence is playing. The more times a team can completely keep their opponents from scoring, the more likely it is the team’s actual ability rather than just random chance.

We keep track of all the clean sheet information here, and these are the stats for Portugal vs Serbia:

• Portugal has played 10 matches and kept opponents from scoring a single goal in 5 of them. In other words, they have kept a clean sheet in 50% of their matches.
• In 6 home matches in the WC Qualification Europe, Portugal has had 3 matches without conceding a goal. Serbia has played 10 matches and has shut out opponents on 1 occasions. That means they have held clean sheets in 13% of their matches.
• In 4 home matches played in the WC Qualification Europe, Serbia has had 1 matches without conceding a single goal. And away from home, they have a 25% clean sheet rate as the visiting side.

If both clubs have a high rate of keeping clean sheets, then there’s a decent chance of seeing a low-scoring battle between two strong defensive clubs. But for matches between clubs with low rates of clean sheets, then it’s fair to expect a goal or two.