Scotland vs Greece Prediction, Lineups and Odds: 13/2 fancy in the first goalscorer market

Scotland host Greece in the second leg of their Nations League promotion/relegation play-off, with the crunch clash set to kick off at 5pm on Sunday 23rd March. 

The game, which takes place at Hampden Park in Glasgow, will be shown live on BBC Two, BBC Scotland and BBC iPlayer.

It’s advantage Scotland after Scott McTominay’s first-half penalty gave them a 1-0 success at the Stadio Georgios Karaiskakis in Piraeus, which made it three straight victories for the Scots, and avoiding defeat in the second leg will see them retain their Nations League A status.

It was a nervy night in the opening leg in Piraeus on Thursday as Scotland ground out a 1-0 victory, defending resolutely after Scott McTominay had provided them with a 33rd-minute lead.

Greece won the shot count 24-8 in that match but were only able to hit the target once as their forays forward became all too predictable.

It is easy to see the second leg following a similar narrative, with goals and clear-cut opportunities being hard to come by.

Scotland qualified for this playoff by picking up seven points from their final three matches in Nations League Group A1, holding section-toppers Portugal to a goalless draw at Hampden Park before recording one-goal wins over Croatia and Poland.

Steve Clarke’s side were also able to keep a clean sheet at home to Croatia in a 1-0 win and they have the organisation and robustness to fend off the Greek challenge.

Greece have a habit of being embroiled in low-scoring encounters - both teams have scored in only four of their last 21 matches - and Scotland aren’t blessed with an array of attacking options.

Only two of Scotland’s last 19 Nations League matches have gone over 3.5 goals and, having conceded just once in their last four outings in the competition, they may be happy to defend the lead that they already have.

They say lightning doesn’t strike twice but McTominay, the match-winner from the opening leg, could land another blow against Greece.

The former Manchester United man has been rejuvenated by his summer switch to Napoli, where he has six goals and four assists in 26 Serie A appearances, and his form has been excellent for his country too.

The 28-year-old midfielder has four goals in his last nine Scottish caps and being his side's penalty-taker adds to his goalscoring potential.

In the first leg, McTominay had four of Scotland’s eight shots and he remains the most likely player to open the deadlock for the home side.

Scotland vs Greece Lineups

The starting lineups for Scotland vs Greece will be displayed in the graphic below once the team news has been announced.

Scotland vs Greece Team News

Scotland

• Scotland midfielder Ryan Christie was suspended for the trip to Greece but is available for this fixture, although manager Steve Clarke may opt to name an unchanged side.
• Goalkeeper Angus Gunn, striker Lyndon Dykes and winger Ben Doak remain sidelined but Lewis Ferguson, Kieran Tierney and Kevin Nisbet were included in the squad for this double-header.

Greece

• Greece are again missing injured captain Tasos Bakasetas but midfielder Christos Zafeiris returned from suspension in the opening leg.
• The visitors could make a tactical tweak in a must-win game with Vangelis Pavlidis in line to replace Fotis Ioannidis in attack.