Scotland take on Greece at Hampden Park on Thursday night in a crucial World Cup qualifier in Group C.
Scotland opened their World Cup qualifying campaign with a decent point last month, as they played out a goalless draw in Copenhagen against Denmark.
It was crucial that Steve Clarke’s men backed up that result three days later, and they did, as goals from Che Adams and Zakhar Volkov (OG) sealed a 0-2 victory against the side expected to finish bottom of the group, Belarus.
Greece made the perfect start to their World Cup qualifying campaign, thrashing Belarus 5-1 in Piraeus on an evening on which I landed an 11/8 winner thanks to a goal from Christos Tzolis.
However, Ivan Jovanovic’s men were swiftly brought back down to earth three days later, as they were beaten 0-3 at home to Denmark, leaving the Ethniki in third position in Group C, a point behind both Denmark and Scotland.
How the bookies view it: Tough one to call
The bookies are finding it hard to separate these two nations on Thursday night, with Greece marginal 8/5 favourites at BoyleSports.
The same firm has a home success at 17/10, whilst the draw is 21/10.
Head to head: Greek tragedy for the Scots
These two nations met as recently as March in a Nations League playoff tie, and despite winning 0-1 in the first leg in Piraeus, Scotland were knocked out by Ivan Jovanovic’s men, courtesy of a 0-3 loss at Hampden in the second leg.
Players to watch: Tziolis to find the target?
Christos Tzolis has been in fantastic form so far this season, with the Club Brugge winger already scoring six goals and providing eight assists in his opening 17 appearances for the Belgian giants.
Tzolis has also scored five goals across his previous 12 caps for Greece, including one in his last trip to Hampden in March, and I like the 9/5 on offer at PaddyPower for him to Score or Assist on Thursday night.
Predicted line-ups:
Steve Clarke has recalled veteran goalkeeper Craig Gordon after recovering from injury, as well as Celtic duo Kieran Tierney and Anthony Ralston.
Ivan Jovanovic has been dealt a massive blow, as wonderkid Konstantinos Karetsas is forced to withdraw from the squad due to illness.
Scotland: Gunn, Hickey, Souttar, McKenna, Robertson, Gilmour, McGinn, Ferguson, Christie, McTominay, Adams
Greece: Tzolakis, Vagiannidis, Mavropanos, Koulierakis, Tsimikas, Kourbelis, Zafeiris, Bakasetas, Konstantellias, Tzolis, Pavlidis
Anything else catch the eye?
This is a crucial clash for both of these nations in their quest to qualify for next summer’s World Cup, and I envisage a nervy, low-scoring encounter.
Both Teams to Score has failed to land in six of Scotland’s last seven competitive clashes, including in their past three at Hampden, with just four goals being scored.
What’s more, eight of Greece’s previous 10 competitive contests have also seen both teams fail to get on the scoresheet – including both meetings with their hosts in March – and a repeat here pays an appealing 20/23 at BoyleSports.
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