Passions will be running high as Scotland host England for a World Cup qualifier at Hampden Park on Saturday evening. There is always a tense atmosphere when these two meet due to the history between the two countries, and it should prove another passionate encounter. However, the gulf in class is huge between the two sides and England should wrap up a relatively comfortable victory.
Gareth Southgate’s men are top of Group F, with four wins and a draw from their five games. They drew with Slovenia, but they beat Slovakia 1-0, Malta 2-0, Lithuania 2-0 and, most significantly, Scotland 3-0. They are yet to concede a goal and, while they have not been dazzling fans with free flowing football and attacking prowess, they have been tight, compact, solid and efficient as they have ground out wins. They are basically doing what England always do: qualifying for big tournaments with ease and getting fans’ hopes up.
Scotland meanwhile are fourth in the group, six points behind England. It has not been a bad showing from Gordon Strachan’s side, and they have climbed up to 61st in the world rankings. They produced a fantastic performance to beat Slovenia 1-0 in their last game, which should give them hope here, and they also destroyed Malta 5-1. Less impressive was their 2-2 draw against Lithuania, while their 3-0 reverse against Slovakia was a blow. The one that will have hurt the most, however, was that 3-0 defeat against England.
England were unconvincing on the night, but it did not matter as Scotland were dreadful. Daniel Sturridge opened the scoring with a stooped header, Adam Lallana made it two when he was given far too much space to shoot, and Gary Cahill wrapped up the win with a header from a corner. England were still rebuilding after crashing out of the Euros at the hands of Iceland, but they ruthlessly exposed Scotland’s lack of quality at the back. It was a similar case going forwards for Strachan’s side, as Robert Snodgrass wasted a good opportunity, James Forrest missed a decent chance and Leigh Griffiths played the wrong pass with Snodgrass open.
They have a pretty good, Celtic-heavy midfield, and Snodgrass can unlock defences with his creativity, but if you look at the teams, no Scotland player would get anywhere near the England starting 11. Southgate can call on some very good players in most positions. Strachan called them “world class” after that 3-0 defeat, which might be a bit excessive, but the likes of Lallana, Harry Kane, Raheem Sterling and Jamie Vardy would cost an absolute fortune in the transfer market. Defensively they have been solid, not conceding in 450 minutes of football, and in Kane they have one of the best strikers in Europe.
That makes it strange to see England really well priced to win this game. They are 8/11 with a host of Green Listed Bookmakers, including William Hill, Bet Victor and Coral. Perhaps Scotland’s 1-0 win over Slovenia is giving bookmakers a fright, but those odds seem really good. You would expect England to win this one, even if it is by a smaller margin than the one they achieved at Wembley. Scotland’s fans will be well up for it, but England’s team is full of mature, experienced professionals and they should be able to get the job done. To get more value you could go England to win and under 3.5 goals at 6/5 with Bet Stars. None of their qualifiers have seen more than three goals so far, and they are unlikely to start attacking with reckless abandon here. They are cautious and slow to break teams down, but eventually their superior quality tells in the long run and they wear the opposition down and grind out low-scoring victories.
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