Scotland vs Russia Predictions

After a reasonably solid start to qualification, Scotland will be hoping to go level with the Russians by claiming three points in Glasgow on Friday evening. The visitors know that three points could see them go top of Group I.

Up and down is an accurate way to describe Scotland in qualifying so far. They did what they needed to away against minnows San Marino, while they came out of their shell to offer a pleasing effort in victory against Cyprus at Hampden Park, though they were massively disappointing against Kazakhstan and were simply inferior against the Belgians last time out.

Ahead of this match, it is best to focus on what the Scots have done at home. In their first home game in Group I, Steve Clarke’s men impressed going forward, as they looked a threat both in possession and on the break. They bettered their opponents in terms of shots, while they also posted 1.79 expected goals for, ending the game with an expected goal difference of +1.00, which tells us that they were good value for their 2-1 win.

A repeat of such attacking efforts should hold Scotland in good stead, though they’ll need to sharpen up at the back after being rolled over by Belgium a few months ago.

Russia have offered lots of attacking promise in qualifying, as they come into this match having scored a whopping 15 goals in four games. We can ignore their 9-0 win against San Marino, though their attacking efforts against Cyprus last time out bode well. Like Scotland, the Russians made light work of forging scoring opportunities against Cyprus, as they registered 21 shots and clocked an impressive 3.2 expected goals for. A similar effort would almost certainly see Stanislav Cherchesov’s men hurt a Scottish back-line that has surrendered seven goals in four qualifying matches.

Given what we’ve seen from this pair in qualifying so far, ‘Over 2.5 Goals’ makes plenty of appeal ahead of Friday’s clash. Even if we exclude their games against a non-competitive San Marino side, the pair are averaging a combined 3.27 expected goals for and thus backing the goals to flow at Hampden Park is a viable option at the prices.