Prediction: Scotland vs Israel

Prediction: Israel win

Best Odds: 17/4

Bookmaker: bet365

The international break is slowly coming to an end and while that may please some fans who are intrigued to see the return of domestic football, there are still a handful of exciting games left for us to enjoy before the top European leagues resume. One such game will be Scotland vs Israel, which serves as one of the many rematches from last month’s stretch of games. These two sides will battle it out for the right to continue their Nations League journey, and it’ll be interesting to see how they fare given that it hasn’t been all too long since they last met.

Scotland

It feels as if the Scots have never been further away from qualifying for a major tournament, and that’s saying something. While they did manage to pick up a win last week it feels like all that did was provide fans with false hope, as harsh as that may sound. They have some top quality individual talent but putting it all together seems to be where they’ve gone wrong, because there’s no real cohesion to speak of. Perhaps they’ll surprise us against Israel, but their fans would be smart to manage their expectations.

Team News

With a massive 17 players being out injured it’ll be interesting to see what kind of starting XI Scotland pull together for this one.

Israel

Israel were once viewed as rising stars in the realms of European football, but political tensions off the pitch have taken precedence over anything they’ve been able to accomplish on it over the course of the last decade or so. They’re a long way off of where they want to be but the general hope is that the UEFA Nations League can provide them with the springboard that they so desperately need. The game against Scotland, who are in a similar position, will test that theory.

Team News

Moanes Dabour will be relied upon as the main source of goals for an Israel side in need of a big result.

Factors to Consider

• The game will be played at Scotland’s Hampden Park.
• Scotland have won two and lost four of their last six games.
• Israel have won three and lost three of their last six games.
• Scotland lead 3-1 in the overall head to head standings.
• Israel won their latest meeting last month 2-1.

Conclusion

It’s hard to gauge just how much, or how little, two teams can change in the space of just a few weeks. The common belief is that the Scots will thrive off of their home momentum in order to pick up the win, but football doesn’t work like that – especially when it comes to the Scottish national team. They’ve still got a long way to go before they can be viewed as a side that are capable of seeing out games in which they are expected to win, and for that reason, we’re going to predict a somewhat surprising 3-1 triumph for Israel.

Prediction: Israel win

Best Odds: 17/4

Bookmaker: bet365