Scotland v Slovenia: Visitors will turn screw on Strachan

Scotland v Slovenia
Sunday, 18:45
Live On Sky Sports 1

Scotland

Gordon Strachan's future as Scotland manager seems to be hanging by a thread, after a poor performance in the home friendly draw against Canada in midweek.

Scotland went 1-0 down against a Canadian side that have already been knocked out of the World Cup qualifying process and are ranked 117 in the world. Though they found an equaliser, Scotland were toothless in attack and extremely poor in defence. What's worse, the two best players on the pitch were Canada's goalscorer Fraser Aird and their midfielder Scott Arfield, who both played for Scotland at youth level earlier on in their careers.

Strachan already needed his side to win this match against Slovenia in terms of Scotland's qualification hopes, but now his position as manager seems tied to the result. While it's true that Scotland are not blessed with talent these days, the recent success of the likes of Northern Ireland - who arguably have even less naturally gifted players at their disposal - has increased the pressure on Strachan.

The former Celtic manager will hope that the return of many of the club's players, who he rested against Canada, will help his side. Stuart Armstrong, Scott Brown, James Forrest and Kieran Tierney could all return, after sitting out the Canada clash.

Slovenia

The Slovenians come into this match in decent form. They are unbeaten in seven, which includes their four World Cup qualifiers.

Two wins and two draws has seen Slovenia move to second in Group F, four points ahead of fifth-placed Scotland and only two points behind the leaders England.

Srecko Katanec's team come into this game off the back of a friendly victory over Finland in January and will fancy their chances against the struggling Scots. Slovenia are likely to need at least a point to keep clear of a more star-studded Slovakia side, who are likely to win when they face Malta over the weekend.

Ref Watch

Dutch referee Bjorn Kuipers will officiate. His last international outing was Slovenia's 1-1 draw away at Poland in November, in which he only showed three yellow cards.

Match Odds

Scotland are the 2.46 favourites, with the draw at 3.15 and Slovenia at 3.45.

The draw is a short price, no doubt because the Scots home record in qualifiers is good, with just one loss from their last seven (W4 D2), while Slovenia have won only one of their last seven internationals (D4 L2).

Yet while the draw is very tempting, so too is Slovenia at the generous 2.38 in the Draw No Bet market. It's certainly hard to imagine Scotland winning this one, so it's a chance worth taking.

Over/Under 2.5 Goals

Unders is the big favourite at 1.54, with overs at 2.64.

Slovenia's last six games have seen less than three goals, but the counter argument is that Scotland have conceded in each of their last seven. Slovenia have scored in five of their last seven and Both Teams To Score could be the better bet at 2.20.

To Score

Sheffield Wednesday's Steven Fletcher is the favourite at 3.40, but there is better value to be found on Scotland's flanks. Robert Snodgrass scored a hat-trick in the 5-1 win in Malta at the start of the qualification campaign and can be backed at 4.50.

Recommended Bets

Back Slovenia Draw No Bet at 2.38
Back both teams to score at 2.20