SCOTLAND kick off the preparations for opening Euro 2024 with what should be a penalty kick of a friendly in Portugal against minnows Gibraltar.
After such a terrific qualify qualifying campaign where Steve Clarke's side beat Spain at home and Norway away, alarm bells have started to ring…loudly.
They haven't won since a comfortable 3-0 triumph in Cyprus last September and that run has now stretched to seven games.
In fairness, opponents have included France and Spain away and England at home and they are three teams expected to challenge in Germany.
But more worrying was a pitiful 1-0 home loss to Northern Ireland in March at Hampden which was one of the worst performances for years. They were also thumped 4-0 in Amsterdam by the Dutch, although in fairness that severely flattered the hosts.
But it will turn into a full-scale crisis if Scotland doesn't win and win well against the Iberian peninsula in a game played in Faro.
Gibraltar have lost their 12 games without scoring a single goal and included in that was a 14-0 crushing by France in Nice.
How the bookies view it: Scotland massive favourites
It's not often Scotland find themselves 1/40 to win, but that's a measure of the paucity of the standard of opposition. Gibraltar are 50/1 and the draw is 16/1, all with bet365.
Recent head to heads: Double six for Scots
The nations met in the qualifiers for Euro 2016 and Scotland romped to a 6-0 win in Portugal and a 6-1 win at Hampden, although the minnows did equalise and momentarily stun the Tartan Army.
Players to watch: Super John McGinn the man
Aston Villa captain John McGinn has scored twice as many goals as any other Scot in the squad and needs two more to reach 20 goals for his country. He is always a threat and is 10/11 to score anytime with bet365.
Given Gibraltar haven't scored a single goal since November 2022 you are struggling for options here! But Lee Casciaro netted against Scotland at Hampden and the Lincoln Red Imps ace is still going strong at 42. He is 10/1 to score anytime with bet365.
Predicted line-ups:
Scotland have doubts over Scott McTominay, Stuart Armstrong, Ben Doak, Lyndon Dykes and John Souttar.
Gibraltar could hand a debut to 18-year-old Chesterfield striker Liam Jessop at some point.
Scotland: Gunn, Porteous, Hendy, Tierney, McCrorie, McGinn, McGregor, Christie, Robertson, Adams, Shankland.
Gibraltar: Banda, Sergeant, Lopes, Annesley, Olivero, De Haro, Ronan, Walker, Scanlon, Britto, De Barr.
Anything else catch the eye?
If Scotland don't win this at a canter, full-on panic stations could set in ahead of that 14 June opener against hosts Germany in Munich.
They dearly need a morale-boosting win by several goals to make them feel good about themselves again following their poor run.
Of course, betting angles are tricky due to the opposition's frankly risible standard, but Ireland won 4-0 against them away from home, so that really should be the minimum.
Back Scotland to win -4 on the handicap at 6/4 with bet365. They really should cover that.
You would expect the Scots to race out of the traps here with a point to prove and on a similar note, the 4/5 to cover a -1 handicap in the first half should be a straightforward ask.
As stated, Scotland have scored six goals on both occasions in their previous meetings. Take a chance on a 6-0 away win at 17/2 with bet365.
This International Friendly match between Gibraltar and Scotland will be played on Jun 3, 2024 and kick off at 17:00. Check below for our tipsters best Gibraltar vs Scotland prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
