Scotland vs Lithuania
European Qualifiers – 2018 World Cup
Date: Saturday; 8th October 2016
Kick-off: 17:00 UK
Venue: Hampden Park, Glasgow.
Reason For Betting Tips
Scotland narrowly missed out on the chance to return to major competition earlier this year when they were pipped to the Euro 2016 playoff spot by Republic of Ireland. They finished three points behind them, and the finger can be pointed squarely at their 1-0 defeat to Georgia towards the end of the campaign.
They got their World Cup qualification campaign off to a good start though as they hammered Malta 5-1 away from home. However, they face major competition for the automatic qualification spot and the potential playoff position from the likes of arch rivals England, Slovenia, and Slovakia.
Scotland’s victory over Malta ended their run of two defeats in a row, although you can forgive them for losing to the likes of Italy and France. They have won four, drawn one, and lost two of their last seven matches in all competitions, including an impressive 1-0 win over Czech Republic and a draw with Poland.
Lithuania have next to no chance of making it to the World Cup in Russia, although that will come as a surprise to nobody. They regularly finish towards the bottom of their qualifying groups, and whilst they’re not on the same level as the likes of San Marino and Andorra, they are certainly no challengers for the top positions.
They did manage a respectable 2-2 draw at home to Slovenia in their group opener though. This made it three draws, four defeats, and one victory in their last eight outings in all competitions.
Away from home it’s a little worse for the Lithuanians though. They are without a win since a 2-0 win in San Marino two years ago, with eight defeats and three draws being played out since then. They have only scored in two of these 11 games and have conceded 22 times.
Scotland have won six of their last nine at home as well, so they can be considered big favourites for this clash. They have kept six clean sheets in their last 11 home games as well, and considering Lithuania’s record of two goals in their last 11 away days, I wouldn’t rule out another clean sheet here. I’m backing Scotland to Win to Nil at 11/10 alongside a 2-0 correct score prediction at 5/1.
Head To Head
Scotland have won four, draw one, and lost one of their last six meetings with Lithuania, with the last match being in 2011.
Stats
Scotland have kept a clean sheet in 55% of their last 11 home games, whilst Lithuania have failed to score in 82% of their last 11 away from home.
Team News
Full back Callum Peterson has been drafted in as a replacement for the injured Alan Hutton. Celtic marksman Leigh Griffiths, and England based strikers Steven Fletcher and Steven Naismith will battle it out for a starting position up front, whilst the likes of James Morrison, Robert Snodgrass, Matt Ritchie, and Ikechi Anya are all in the squad.
Striker Fiodor Cernych will captain the squad for this one, with the 25 year old forward also being the top scorer in the squad. The most experienced player is 35 year old defender Delvidas Cesnauskis, with his 64 caps dwarfing the next highest of 31 from midfielder Arvydas Novkivovas.
