Scottish pride from the stands to have huge impact
Scotland kick off their Euro 2020 campaign in front of a home crowd at Hampden Park, it will be an electrifying start to their first major tournament since 1998. The two outsiders in Group D face off in the opening encounter, presenting an enormous opportunity for one to take huge strides towards qualification even if it is via the third place route. Czech Republic lost 1-0 in the identical fixture in the Nations League in October with Newcastle United’s Ryan Fraser grabbing the only goal of the game in the sixth minute. You can only imagine the roar of the crowd should the Scots get off to such a flying start in this game.
Background
Steve Clarke is bound to make his side hard to beat and set up a very well drilled defensive unit. Che Adams becoming available for selection will give Scotland a boost going forward, it has been an up and down couple of seasons in the Premier League for Southampton however the 24-year-old has shown his undeniable ability in glimpses, the spotlight of a major tournament should see him raise his game.
25-year-old bagsman Patrik Schick is the Czech danger man, coming off the back of an impressive season in the Bundesliga. Schick already has Sampdoria, Roma, RB Leipzig and now Bayer Leverkusen on his CV, despite the moving around he has developed into a handful for the best of defences and that will be no different in this tournament. Expect Czech Republic to adopt a direct style with the likes of West Ham United’s Tomas Soucek joining in from midfield areas to put the Scots’ backline under pressure. If the occasion gets the better of Scotland, Czech Republic will be ready to pounce. Achieving a place in the knockout rounds would be deemed as a success for both of these nations.
Goals?
Unders looks the play but once again the lines are extremely short so I will not be getting involved in that market.
- Scotland have scored in eight of ten.
- Scotland have conceded in six of ten.
- Scotland have seen both teams score in four of ten.
- Scotland have seen over 2.5 goals in three of ten.
- Czech Republic have scored in six of ten.
- Czech Republic have conceded in eight of ten.
- Czech Republic have seen both teams score in four of ten.
- Czech Republic have seen over 2.5 goals in four of ten.
The home crowd will carry Scotland to a positive result here, they have the chance to all but seal a place in the knockouts on Monday.
Post bet chat Marcus's Tips:
A simply superb brace from Patrik Schick scuppered us here despite a decent performance from the Scots.