On Monday night, Scotland host Belgium at Hampden Park, in a potentially vital clash for the home side in Group I of Euro 2020 qualifying.
Scotland (Odds of 13/2 for victory)
Scotland needs to start winning quickly in Group I if they are to have any chance of qualification for Euro 2020. The home side suffered a potentially costly 2-1 home defeat against Russia on Friday night.
The defeat leaves Steve Clarke’s side six points behind Russia, who occupy the last automatic qualification spot in the group for Euro 2020. Scotland have now lost their last two Euro 2020 qualifications, which has dampened their chances of making next years tournament.
Scotland’s recent record in qualifying does not make good reading, as they have won just three of their last ten qualifiers. Even the advantage of playing at the atmospheric Hampden Park has not helped their results in qualifying.
Their recent home qualifiers have been good for goals, as their last five matches for qualifying have produced over 2.5 goals. The home side has been relatively prolific to contribute to those high-scoring games, as they have scored at least two goals in four their last five qualifiers at Hampden Park.
Belgium (Odds of 9/20 for victory)
Belgium, as expected, have dominated the group so far, winning all five of their qualifiers so far. They have certainly lived up to their tag as red hot favourites to top the group.
Roberto Martinez’s team are one of the best in the world, so the fact that they have won their last nine qualifiers for the European Championships is not majorly surprising.
The Red Devils have also been highly effective at both ends of the pitch in qualifying. Martinez’s team have scored at least two goals in all five of their qualifiers in Group I, while also keeping four straight clean sheets in the process. In fact, Belgium have now scored at least two goals in eight of their last nine European championship qualifiers dating back to qualifying for Euro 2016.
It doesn’t seem to matter where the visitors play in qualifying, they tend to win. The Red Devils have now won four of their last five qualifiers on their travels, including their last four.
Belgium have been prolific of late on their travels, scoring at least two goals in their last three qualifiers. At the other end of the pitch, they have also kept clean sheets in three of their last four away matches in qualifying.
[reviewTableLarge ids=”620,639,642″ title=”Best betting sites to place bet on this game are:”]Prediction
On paper, Scotland seem to have little chance of picking up anything against the visitors. Belgium have a squad full of top-class players and tend to swat away most opposition.
It is hard to predict anything other than an away win at odds of 9/20 and the over 2.5 goals at evens. However, both teams to score at odds of 11/10 is an interesting bet, considering that Belgium are so prolific in front of goal and that Scotland hardly seem to blank on home soil.
Verdict: Back both teams to score at odds of 11/10
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Can Scotland pull off a shock result against Belgium at Hampden Park?
