Hungary v Scotland: Tartan Army want to see progress from new-look side

Hungary v Scotland
Tuesday, 7.00pm
Live on BBC One Scotland

Hungary entertain Scotland on the back of a five-goal thriller vs Kazakhstan on Friday night. Nemzeti Tizenegy ended on the wrong side of that weekend goal-fest with strikes from Szalai and Nemeth bettered by Murtazaev, Zainutdinov and Seidakhmet. Head coach Georges Leekens will be eager to tighten up at the back while retaining a bit of that flair going forward.

Followers of the stats will tell us that these nations have met only once before in competitive action with Hungary beating Scotland 3-0 at Hampden Park back in 2004. Huszti bagged a double that day before David Marshall suffered the humiliation of an own-goal on a forgettable night for the dark blues. Home fans will
fancy more of the same.

Big Eck needs time to get it right

New Scotland manager Alex McLeish saw his side come up short against Costa Rica in Glasgow but the boss and those who bothered to turn up at the national stadium have reason to be confident going forward. There were bits and pieces of decent play in attack but for the most part Scotland huffed and puffed their way through the match and could've conceded one or two more.

On the plus side Big Eck now has game one out of the way and it has given him a better idea of who deserves a place in his squad. Jose Mourinho was in the stands to watch his golden boy Scott McTominay make his debut alongside three others. It's a transitional period for Scotland and fans must remain patient, allowing the returning gaffer time to work out the best way forward. We expect another experimental night on Tuesday.

Scotland goal a move in the right direction

There wasn't an awful lot in Scotland's play vs Costa Rica on Friday night that'll inspire punters to rush out and back the away win but they did create a couple of chances and the team would see scoring a goal as a move in the right direction. McLeish must take positives where he can get them at this stage.

Keeping Hungary's result vs Kazakhstan in mind both teams to score appeals at a handy even money on the Betfair Sportsbook. Hungary are favourites for the victory at 2.70 on the Exchange where you'll find the visitors at 2.90. The draw can't be easily ignored with 3.25 up for grabs.

Hungary's defence is there to be shot at

Sticking with that it's worth knowing this match to produce over 2.5 goals is an option in your midweek international accumulators at 5/4. We'll need both teams to take their chances to get that bet paid out as a winner, but Hungary's defence looks there to be shot at and Scotland were unlucky on a couple of occasions vs Costa Rica.

Traders think it'll be a tighter affair and have under 2.5 as favourite with 4/7 sent out by the Sportsbook. The fact Hungary beat Scotland to nil in the only previous meeting of the teams hasn't gone unnoticed by odds-makers but armchair fans tuning into the match will be hoping for a bit more by way of entertainment.

RECOMMENDED BETS

Both teams to score @ evens

Over 2.5 goals @ 5/4