The first ever play-offs in the UEFA Nations League kick off this week as Portugal take on Switzerland on June 5, followed by England against the Netherlands a day later.

Not surprisingly, with home advantage, Portugal are the favourites to lift the trophy. The Euro 2016 champions, who were knocked out of the last World Cup by Uruguay in the Second Round, are the favourites in their semi-final, rated as -157 shots by BetCris, while Switzerland are available at +455 and the normal-time draw can be backed at +279.

Those odds reflect both the benefit to Portugal of playing in front of their home fans, and the fact that they will have Cristiano Ronaldo available for this game. The Juventus star, who has captained the national team since 2008, was absent for the entirety of the Nations League Group stage, but in his absence, Portugal successfully topped a tough Group that also included Poland and Italy.

Ronaldo’s return will not only give the team a valuable boost of experience and ability, it should also improve their goals tally. They managed just five in their four Group games and that inability to turn creativity and possession into goals has been a problem for some time.

With Ronaldo back in the side, Fernando Santos may fall back on the cautious tactics that have brought the national side some success in his five year tenure, built on a solid back line, a busy midfield and a direct attacking style that channels everything through their star number 7.

Like Santos, Switzerland manager Vladimir Petkovic was appointed in 2014. Under his guidance, Switzerland have qualified for Euro 2016 and the 2018 World Cup, reaching the Round of Sixteen in both tournaments, without quite fulfilling their potential. But they performed with credit in a tough Nations League Group, thrashing Iceland 6-0 at home and ultimately securing their place in the play-offs with a thoroughly impressive 5-2 home victory over Belgium.

Switzerland’s goal-scoring prowess saw them finish as top team scorers across the four Groups of League A with 14 goals, and the good news going into this game is that they will have their two Premier League stars, Xherdan Shaqiri and Granit Xhaka available, after they returned without injury from European duty with Liverpool and Arsenal respectively.

It’s also worth remembering that Switzerland are only one place behind Portugal in the FIFA World Rankings, so it would be dangerous to underestimate them, particularly if Santos sets out his team to play in a conservative style, as the likes of Shaqiri will relish the opportunity to get on the ball and dictate the pace of the game, while Haris Seferovic, who scored a hat-trick against Belgium to secure Switzerland’s qualification could prove to be a handful for an occasionally shaky home defence.

The odds favour the home side, who will be more comfortable with conditions at the Estadio do Dragao in Porto, but Switzerland should provide a tough test in what promises to be a fascinating Nations League semi-final.