Arabic
Chinese (Simplified)
Dutch
French
German
Greek
Italian
Japanese
Korean
Norwegian
Polish
Portuguese
Russian
Spanish
Swedish
Ukrainian
Scotland begin their 2024 Euro qualifying campaign with a home clash against Cyprus. The match takes place at 2pm UK time at Glasgow’s Hampden Park on Saturday afternoon.
Scotland
Scotland may not have played since November, however, Steve Clarke’s men will enter this contest in buoyant mood having secured been promoted from their group in the Nations League. Those September victories also ensured them a Euro play-off spot.
Match has ended
This is the first of two consecutive home games and with Spain arriving at Hampden Park on Tuesday evening, the hosts will be keen to get some points on the board here.
Clarke’s first match in charge of Scotland also came against Cyprus with the Scots emerging 2-1 winners courtesy of a late strike from Oli Burke. The former Reading and Kilmarnock boss has done a superb job since taking over at the helm and he has made Scotland incredibly tough to beat in front of their own fans.
They won all three home matches in the Nations League last year, conceding just once in the process. They also beat Israel and Denmark during the World Cup qualifiers at this venue. Only Czech Republic and Ukraine have won at this ground since September 2019 and they won’t make it easy for the visitors on Saturday.
Clarke has a number of selection dilemmas to consider including picking a goalkeeper to deputise for the injured Craig Gordon.
Cyprus
Cyprus have been much-improved in recent years and although their all-time qualifying record for the Euros stands at 19 wins from 114 matches, they managed to push Scotland all the way when the two sides met in 2019.
During the previous Euros qualifying campaign, they lost 2-1 in both matches against Scotland and won on just three occasions. Two of those victories came against San Marino with the other against Kazakhstan.
Their most recent games saw them pick up some decent results with a 2-2 draw in Northern Ireland and a 1-0 home victory against Greece. Nevertheless, they ended September with a 5-1 hammering at the hands of Kosovo.
They might not pick up too many wins on the road, yet the Cypriots can make it difficult for the hosts and have avoided defeat in three of their last five away games across all competitions.
Head to Head
These two sides faced one another twice during the previous Euros qualifying campaign. Scotland picked up maximum points in both encounters, however, they were made to work for those victories.
In each of those encounters, Scotland took the lead before being pegged back. Steve Clarke’s men managed to find a second half winner in both of those games.
Prior to those victories, they played out a friendly in 2011 with Scotland also coming out on top by the same score-line.
Key Betting Stats
- Both teams have found the back of the net in the last five meetings between these two sides.
- Scotland have won six of their last seven competitive home matches across all competitions.
- Scotland also won five of their seven matches during their previous Euros qualifying campaign.
- Cyprus have conceded 2+ goals in each of their last four away matches across all competitions
- The visitors lost three of their five away games during the previous qualifying campaign, although they did beat San Marino and Kazakhstan on the road.
- Omonia Nicosia’s Andronikos Kakoullis scored twice in the Nations League and will be a constant threat to Scotland’s defence.
- John McGinn impressed during last year’s Nations League. He scored twice and claimed two assists.
Match Prediction
Scotland have an excellent recent record against this opposition and Cyprus won’t be pleased to have to visit Hampden Park once again. The hosts will be backed by a vociferous crowd once more with the stadium operating a far higher capacity than during their previous meeting. Cyprus should put up a good fight, but they’ll inevitably fall short.
Winning Combo
Scotland to Win and Both Teams to Score
Odds – 11/4 with Bet365
Best Bookmaker
We recommend using Bet365 to bet on this weekend’s Premier League fixtures. Their Bet Builder allows you to combine multiple selections into one single bet. You can also take advantage of Bet Boosts each and every day.
