Scotland vs Greece World Cup Qualifier Tips
Scotland's October consists of a Hampden Park double-header, hosting Greece and Belarus in World Cup qualifying Group C.
The Scots' games against the Greeks and pool leaders Denmark are vital and Thursday's visit of Ethniki could define their hosts' hopes of reaching a first global showpiece since France 98.
Steve Clarke's side have made a respectable start, drawing 0-0 in Denmark and beating Belarus 2-0 in Hungary.
Greece were way off when they lost 3-0 to the Danes in September, but that was Ivan Jovanovic's side's first loss since a 1-0 Nations League play-off defeat to Scotland last March, to which they responded by winning 3-0 at Hampden.
Team news
Celtic pair Anthony Ralston and Kieran Tierney are back in contention for Scotland after missing out in September.
Fit-again Craig Gordon replaces fellow Hearts keeper Zander Clark, but Angus Gunn is expected to retain his place in goal.
Vice-captain John McGinn could win his 80th cap on Thursday and move level with Darren Fletcher in fifth place in Scotland's list of all-time leading caps winners.
Illness means that Konstantinos Karetsas, who starred in Greece's win in March, will miss Thursday's game and the Racing Genk man has been replaced in the squad by Kifissia winger Pavlos Pantelidis.
Olympiacos captain Panagiotis Retsos is also unavailable due to a groin injury.
Tip 1 – Greece to win @ 17/10
The Scottish crowd will expect a big showing, but with so much potentially at stake the draw might be worth considering. However, the tip is for a Greece win.
Recent play-off defeats and their Euro 2024 debacle have formed a pattern of Scotland not performing when required and that was repeated in March when they squandered the advantage they gained by winning in Piraeus.
Clarke's side rode their luck that night, scoring through a Scott McTominay penalty, with their frustrated hosts tallying 24 attempts, but only one on target.
Things then clicked for Ethniki in Glasgow, allowing Scotland to have possession and then dominating on the break to win in style.
Expect similar tactics on Thursday, when Greece can grab a potentially decisive victory.
Tip 2 – Christos Tzolis to score @ 3/1
Christos Tzolis was among the scorers at Hampden in March and is already off the mark for the current campaign, netting his team's final goal against Belarus.
After emerging at PAOK, Tzolis was snapped up by Norwich while still a teenager but never really made an impact in England.
Decent loan spells at Twente and Fortuna Düsseldorf persuaded Club Brugge to cut a deal with the German side to allow them to sign him in 2024.
The 23-year-old was key as Blauw-Zwart won the league and cup double and progressed to the Champions League knockout stages in 2024-25.
Tzolis has continued that form into this season, scoring against Rangers in European qualifying and netting in Brugge's recent 2-1 defeat at Atalanta, while he has also netted in four of his country's last five wins on home soil.
An elusive left winger, he could get some joy out of Aaron Hickey, who has recently featured on his favoured left side for Brentford rather than the right as he often does for Scotland.
Tip 3 – Konstantinos Mavropanos Over 0.5 attempts on target @ 5/1
Scotland can be susceptible from set-pieces and that presents an intriguing option.
A sift through the statistics shows that Konstantinos Mavropanos has had seven attempts at goal during Greece's two qualifiers.
Three of those have been on target and he has also had two efforts on goal for West Ham from his five appearances.
Expect Mavropanos to be a threat from set-pieces and register at least one effort on target.
Odds correct at time of publication but subject to fluctuation
