Some 3,000 kilometers separate Turkey from Qatar but for Scotland it might as well be a million miles.
The Tartan Army’s dreams of appearing at a first World Cup since 1998 were dashed in the summer by Ukraine and instead of preparing for a seat at the top table tonight Steve Clarke’s men line up for a meaningless friendly against a Turkish side who are also absent from the tournament.
It’s one of several international friendlies on the fixture list today which includes a clutch of teams squeezing in a final 90 minutes before their World Cup campaigns kick-off.
Those in action include Croatia, Saudi Arabia, Poland, Argentina, Germany and Mexico.
The Germans meet Qatar’s neighbours, Oman as they attempt to acclimatise to desert conditions in Muscat. Their hosts are ranked 75th in the world and although Hansi Flick will likely give his squad a good run out he’ll be keen for a morale boosting win. The four-time winners are just 1/11 to win but a win to nil makes some appeal at 4/6.
Argentina’s preparations take them across the Qatari border to Abu Dhabi for a match-up against United Arab Emirates. Messi and co are 1/7 to win but again the win to nil market appeals at 8/13 in a game they should win comfortably.
Back to the Scotland match and Steve Clarke has had the usual raft of call-offs to contend with. Celtic refused to release their contingent, instead favouring a pre-arranged trip to Australia. Che Adams, Kenny McLean and Nathan Patterson also pulled out at the weekend, although Adams is the only one you’d expect to start.
Performances have been strong under Clarke but this has the feel of a bit of a free hit and and we could see the Scotland manager be a bit more experimental in his line-up.
The Turks made light work of an easy tier 3 group in the Nations League and we probably shouldn’t read too much into defeat in the Faroe Islands and a home draw with Luxembourg when the group was already won. They’ve still got some quality in their squad and plenty of attacking threat, they’ve struck 21 times in seven games in 2022.
With all the usual caveats associated with an international friendly, keep the stakes small and side with a Turkey win at 21/20.
Super Single
- Turkey 21/20 Bet365
Win to Nil Double
- Germany & Argentina to both win to nil 5/2 Bet365
Upcoming Match Previews & Tips
- Wed 17:00 Turkey vs Scotland
- Wed 19:45 Salford City vs Peterborough United
Golf Tips
Rizzel is out to make it an unbelievable four winning weekends in a row with his tips for the grand finale of the DP World Tour season which features the DP World Championship in Dubai, UAE.
Racing Tips
Rizzel’s sole selection of Wednesday runs at Hexham and makes his hurdles debut, priced up at 3/1.
As always, let us know your best betting tips and predictions for today in the comments section below and good luck with all your bets!
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