Prediction: Scotland vs Czech Republic

2nd September 2011

Scotland entertain Czech Republic at Hampden Park in what could easily be a crucial encounter for both sides. Craig Levein’s side sit five points adrift of their next opponents, but with a game in hand, meaning they would gain the upper hand in the race for the second place in the standings by winning this clash.

New boss Craig Levein needed some time to get to grips with his new job and that almost ended up costing the national team some precious points as not only did Scotland fail to win their opening game in Lithuania, but they almost slipped up against Lichtenstein at Hampden, having scored the winner deep into the injury time. Following the narrow defeats to Czech Republic and Spain, the Scots showed a lot of promise at the Nations Cup, easily beating Northern Ireland and Wales before losing to Republic of Ireland, with the recent friendly win over Denmark also acting as a big confidence boost. Craig Levein was delighted to be able to welcome Darren Fletcher back to the squad following the lengthy spell on the sidelines, while the gaffer can also be happy with the fact that players like Charlie Adam, Christophe Berra, Phil Bardsley and James Morrison are on top of their game at the moment.

Czech Republic have been largely struggling to return to the big stage ever since their golden generation retired from international football and with Tomas Rosicky and Milan Baros their only true stars at the moment, things are not looking good for Michal Bilek’s side. The atmosphere surrounding the national team is very poor at the moment, which is another reason why the players are struggling to find motivation when playing for their country. While Czech Republic have had some success in the Euro 2012 qualifying campaign, the team were very disappointing in friendly games, with 4:2 defeat to Croatia and 3:0 loss in Norway proving that Michal Bilek’s side are far away from Europe’s top teams. On top of all their problems, the visitors will be without key players Petr Cech and Tomas Necid, so they don’t really look capable of getting something from Hampden Park.

Conclusion

Scotland have shown a lot of promise during the Euro 2012 qualifying campaign and with the big support from the stands, Craig Levein’s men are expected to record what would be an invaluable win. Czech Republic are all over the place at the moment and the fact is that much stronger sides were beaten at Hampden.

Verdict: Home win Scotland (1)

Best Odds: 13/8

Bookmaker: Paddy Power