Scotland vs. Ukraine Betting Tips: 15/1 Bet Builder for Wednesday's World Cup play-off

Scotland will play Ukraine at Hampden Park on Wednesday evening in the semi-finals of the World Cup play-offs. This game has been rearranged due to the on-going conflict in Ukraine and the winner will then go on to meet Wales at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff on Sunday. 

Here at BettingOdds.com we’ve taken a look through the markets and have put together a data-driven Bet Builder that we like the look of. At the time of writing this can be backed with either Betfair or Paddy Power at 15/1. 

We are kicking off this three-pronged punt with a selection from the shots market, and for Scotland’s Andy Robertson to have at least one in the match. For his club Liverpool, Robertson is normally deployed as a left-back. However, when playing for his country over the last couple of years, manager Steve Clarke has played him as a wing-back, left midfield, and even as a defensive midfielder at times.

With Kieran Tierney missing out on this crucial game for the Scots there will be even more emphasis on Robertson to provide an attacking threat down the left and potentially get in on the action himself in-front of goal. Looking back at his data throughout this World Cup qualifying campaign, he has recorded 1+ shot in four of his last six matches. The 28-year-old also scored twice for Liverpool in the final month of the Premier League season, with goals against Everton in the Merseyside derby and Wolves in the frantic final day of the campaign. 

We are sticking with the shots market for the second selection in this 15/1 poke. It’s a similar approach to before with a player we are backing who plays a more attacking role for his country than what he does at club level. 

This time Oleksandr Zinchenko is the player we like the look of and will start the game in central midfield rather than the standard left-back position he occupies for Manchester City. No stranger to getting forward and letting off attempts at goal when playing in a Pep Guardiola side, Zinchenko has eight goals to his name at International level. He scored in his most recent outing for his country against Bosnia and Herzegovina back in November in a game where he let off three shots, with two of those hitting the target. Zinchenko has recorded 2+ shots in three of his last four World Cup qualifiers for Ukraine and we think he’ll let off a couple against Scotland on Wednesday.

Rounding off the trio is Scott McTominay to pick up a yellow card. The Manchester United midfielder was shown nine yellow cards in just 28 starts in 2021/2022, with only the petulant Bruno Fernandes picking up more for the Red Devils this season. Looking at his data from the most recent league campaign, McTominay averaged 1.8 fouls per game, which is higher than any other player at the club by some margin.

McTominay was also booked in the Champions League group stage and was given a caution in his most recent competitive International match against the Faroe Islands in the World Cup qualification group stage. The Scots would love to set up a home nations showdown with Wales on Sunday and we think there will be some cynical challenges flying in, with a potentially emotional atmosphere in Scotland and both teams showing quite how much they’d love to reach Qatar.