Scotland 4/5 to beat Israel in Friday’s Nations League showdown

Competition: UEFA Nations League

Market: Scotland win

Odds: 4/5 @ 888sport

Hoping to get their Nations League campaign off to a flying start this weekend, Scotland will welcome Israel to an empty Hampden Park on Friday night.

Starting with the hosts, while Scotland might have struggled to find their feet immediately under new boss Steve Clarke, the Tartan Army have bounced back in some style. Appearing to be showing some real signs of life and with a potential resurge on the cards, the Blues were last seen back in November picking up a 3-1 win against Kazakhstan in Glasgow and now find themselves in the midst of a three-match winning run, their brightest patch since 2017. Hoping to extend on their recent purple patch, one man to potentially keep an eye out for on Friday will be Aston Villa midfielder, John McGinn. Once again grabbing a brace against Kazakhstan last time out, the 25-year-old has remarkably bagged six goals on Scotland’s three-match winning run, including a hat-trick against whipping boys San Marino last year.

As for the visitors, really enduring what was a torrid run of form during their qualifying campaign, Israel should be in for another tough test when they travel to Glasgow on Friday night. Last seen back in November getting hit with a shock 1-0 defeat away in North Macedonia, caretaker boss Willibald Ruttensteiner has seen his side win just one of their last seven matchups across all competitions and they have a real reputation for their issues on foreign soil. Including 3-1 and 4-0 drumming away at Austria and Poland last year, Israel have lost each of their last four contests on the road and should also be worried by their recent meetings against the Tartan Army. Hit with a 3-2 defeat when they last faced off against Scotland in 2018, they have also lost back-to-back trips to Hampden.

Bet: Scotland 4/5 to beat Israel in Friday’s Nations League showdown @ 888sport