Slovakia vs Scotland; FIFA World Cup European Qualifying Group F
Slovakia vs Scotland. FIFA World Cup European Qualifying Group F.
Stadion Antona Malatinskeho.
Slovakia v Scotland preview: Gordon Strachan issues rallying call
Wednesday 12 October 2016 07:39, UK
Scotland travel to Trnava on Tuesday evening to play Slovakia looking to keep their Group F qualification hopes alive.
Scotland boss Gordon Strachan was happy with most of the 5-1 win in Malta in their Group F opener and the second half of the 1-1 draw against Lithuania at Saturday, which required an 89th-minute leveller from substitute James McArthur.
However, with their qualification hopes in the balance, Strachan has called on his team to put a high-class performance together for the full 90 minutes.
The former Celtic manager said: "So far, of the two games, three quarters has been good.
"In the Malta game, apart from a couple of minutes in the game, it was good, professional, I liked it. The second half the other day, a lot of crosses, chances, excitement, we got that.
"So three quarters have been good so we have to take it into 90 minutes tomorrow."
Slovakia suffered their second defeat of the World Cup qualifying campaign on Saturday against Slovenia.
That 1-0 defeat means the hosts must beat Scotland to stand any chances of qualifying for the tournament in Russia in 2018.
Team news
Strachan confirmed he will make changes for the game in Trnava against the group's second seeds while captain Darren Fletcher will have a fitness test on a thigh injury.
Live International Football: FIFA World Cup 2018 Qualifiers
Opta stats
This will be the first ever meeting between Slovakia and Scotland on the international stage.
Scotland have lost just two of their last 11 qualifying games (W5 D4).
Slovakia have failed to score in their last four internationals, with their last goal coming in the European Championships against Russia.
Steven Fletcher has scored four and assisted one more in his last two away competitive matches for Scotland.
Robert Snodgrass has netted four goals in his six previous away games for Scotland, although three of those came in his last away appearance vs Malta.
Charlie Nicholas prediction
I'm a critical Scotland fan but we were awful on Saturday. I felt it was a must win at home to Lithuania, who should've beaten us, and now it really is.
We're not good enough defensively and we're not good enough on the ball. Strachan tried changing too much on Saturday. Oliver Burke is a talent but he's not consistent enough to rely on yet.
Sadly I don't feel good about my team at all. We didn't create many chances and I can see Martin Skrtel doing the damage from a set-piece.
Charlie predicts: 1-0 and Skrtel to score first (70/1 with Sky Bet)
Betting
It's hard to separate these two teams in the betting with the draw just a 21/10 chance and Scotland available at 5/2 to pick up what would be a crucial away win. Slovakia can be backed at 6/5.
Robert Snodgrass is Scotland's top scorer in qualification and he's part of the Sky Bet price boost that has seen his odds boosted from 15/2 to 10/1. Skrtel looks a good shout to score by Charlie Nicholas and his odds of 8/1 look likely to generate some interest.
