THE Tartan Army are still pinching themselves after watching Scotland begin Euro 2024 qualifying with five successive wins and they will be in dreamland if Steve Clarke's men can follow that up with a friendly triumph over England.
This clash at Hampden has been arranged to celebrate the SFA's 150th anniversary and there will be a party atmosphere in Glasgow with the Scots on one of their greatest runs in modern history.
Friday's 3-0 victory in Cyprus made it 11 wins in a row in World Cup and Euro qualifying, with Scott McTominay bringing up a bet for our man Mark by nodding home the opener.
A day later, England's perfect start to the Euro 2024 campaign came to an end as they were held to a 1-1 draw by Ukraine, frustrating Slips Tips after he had backed Harry Kane to grab a goal.
The reaction to that stalemate in the media was a bit over the top, given Gareth Southgate's men are still breezing towards the finals and boast one of the most exciting squads in European football.
At the moment, France and England look the sides most likely to win next year's tournament in Germany but many people still think Southgate's cautious approach will stop the Three Lions from clearing that final hurdle.
So while England are favourites for a win at Hampden, they will need to be at the the top of their game, given Scotland have already beaten the likes of Spain and Denmark on home soil under Clarke.
How the bookies view it
Despite having home advantage and being in incredible form, Scotland are outsiders for this one at 7/2 with Coral. England's best price is just 4/5 with William Hill while the draw pays 14/5 at Unibet.
Recent head to head
These old rivals last faced off in the Euro 2020 finals and Scotland celebrated the 0-0 draw at Wembley like a moral victory. But you have to go all the way back to 1999 for Scotland's last win in the fixture and even that ultimately counted for nothing as a 1-0 triumph on the road in the Euro 2000 play-offs wasn't enough to overturn a 2-0 deficit from the first leg.
Armchair fans will be hoping for a repeat of the last clash at Hampden, with Kane rescuing a point at the death in a World Cup qualifier back in 2017 after Leigh Griffiths looked to have won it for the Scots with a brilliant free-kick double.
Players to watch
Che Adams should lead the line for Scotland again after an impressive start to the season at Southampton. The striker is 3/1 at Bet365 to grab his fourth goal of the campaign.
Southgate insists he won't “fiddle around” with the team for such an historic fixture so England should be close to full strength. Skipper Kane will spearhead the attack and he's 6/5 at Betfred to replicate the goal he grabbed on his last visit to Hampden.
Anything else catch the eye?
The gap between these nations has narrowed significantly since Clarke took charge and Scotland's midfield now has the ability to go toe-to-toe with the English. It should be a tight game and BTTS pays a best 17/20 at Unibet, while the half-time draw is 5/4 at Betfred.
Scott McTominay played like a man possessed in Cyprus and has been a goal machine in Clarke's system, which gives him licence to attack. Bet365 have the Manchester United star at 7/4 just to have a shot on target and that looks terrific value.
With the crowd fired up, I'd expect Clarke's side to steam into a few tackles so it could pay to back Scotland stars for cards. However, despite this being such a glamour friendly, the bookies are offering a shamefully small selection of markets at the moment. Hopefully some card prices will land soon.
We also saw 11 corners when the teams last faced off and both sides will be going for the win so I like over eight corners at 10/11 with Bet365.
This International Friendly match between Scotland and England will be played on Sep 12, 2023 and kick off at 19:45. Check below for our tipsters best Scotland vs England prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
