Scotland – Cyprus

The hosts are in good shape should easily beat their opponents

In the European Championship qualifying group A, apart from Scotland and Cyprus, the blind lot has drawn Spain, Norway, and Georgia. Before the first round, bookmakers rightly regard the Spaniards as the clear favourites to win the quintet and the Norwegians as the runners-up. Another thing is that the Scandinavians will have to play the return leg in Malaga, without Erling Holand being available to play. In other words, should they beat Cyprus on Saturday, the Scots have a unique opportunity to establish themselves among the top two teams from the first leg and set a positive mood for the entire qualifying tournament. Steve Clarke's side sit 42nd in the FIFA rankings and the transfer value of the Scotland squad is estimated at €250 million. The Cyprus team's figures are far more modest. The islanders are ranked 110th in the world rankings, and the value of their entire squad is estimated at EUR 16.45m. The most expensive player in the Cyprus squad is worth less than 20 of Scotland's 23 players. Needless to say, bookmakers have opted to edge the home side as favourites, predicting a 1.24 to win. The Scottish team had a brilliant 2021-2022. The Great Britain's side finished the World Qualifiers with a six-game winning streak, but suffered a setback in the play-offs against Ukraine. Clarke's men got their revenge in last year's Nations League by edging Ukraine in the relegation battle. The Scots lost just once in six games to clinch promotion to League A for next season. Cyprus are nowhere near as good as that. They did not even manage to collect more points than lowly Malta in the World Cup qualifiers, sharing last place in Group H. In last year's Nations League, Temuri Ketsbaya's side were unable to compete with Northern Ireland, Greece and Kosovo, leaving them in last place in League D. Scotland and Cyprus have met seven times in their history. Not once have the islanders managed to score a single point in those matches. We're betting that Clarke's side will beat their opponents by at least two goals.