SCOTTISH football aficionado Gerry Taylor (@thefurlongpole) shares his thoughts on Scotland's Euro 2020 clash against Croatia on Tuesday.
Croatia vs Scotland | Tuesday 22nd June 2020, 20:00 | ITV
Well, Steve Clarkes men’s battling point at Wembley on Friday evening, has set up a must win game now, for both Croatia and Scotland. The performance against the three lions, was full of fight, determination and desire. Now Lyndon Dykes, Che Adams and co must turn good performances into a goal or two, if Scotland want to create history and strut their stuff in the knockout stages.
The defence in particular, looked particularly strong the other night, with Kieran Tierney back in situ in the a solid back three partnership with Grant Hanley and Scott McTominay.
Croatia on the other hand, never laid a glove on England in their opening gambit in the competition, then they were held 1-1 at Hampden to the table topping Czech Republic. So they will need to find some improvement if they are to get the crucial three points in Scotland's own back yard at Hampden.
The Scotland price to win this vital match, at the time of writing is 2/1, which seems a fair price to me based on their 30 shots(highest in the group thus far), and given their xG of 2.31 against the Czechs, and 0.99 against the pre-tournament second favourites.
The Tartan Army are right behind this hungry and improving Scots team, and the 2/1 with Skybet maybe worth taking as Steve Clarke and his side can make history, against the Croats, who have not shown much in the competition so far.
Argy Bargy
The man with the whistle for this high stakes clash is the Argentinean Fernando Rapallini. He has dished out plenty of cards throughout his career – his opening salvo in the Euros was producing three yellow cards in the Ukraine v sNorth Macedonia match. You have to back over an incredible two and a half years, since this ref gave out less than 3 cards in a match.
On the defensive side of things, it's impossible to ignore that Croatia have only 2/18 clean sheets (Malta and Cyprus) in the last few years, so the 10/11 on the Bet365 Bet Builder for Scotland Over 0 Goals, Scotland Over 0 Cards, Croatia Over 0 Cards appeals as a nice bet, with everything that's on the line here.
A spot of value
An eye-catching price on the First Goalscorer markets is the 25/1 with Betway on Callum McGregor. The midfielder played well alongside Billy Gilmour and John McGinn in the engine room for the Scots at Wembley, and given that Ryan Christie is currently on the substitutes bench at the moment – McGregor could be the man to step up if the opportunity arises from the penalty spot.
Best Bets
Croatia vs Scotland – Scotland to win (2/1 SkyBet)
Croatia vs Scotland – Scotland Over 0 Goals, Scotland Over 0 Cards, Croatia Over 0 Cards (1/1 Bet365)
Croatia vs Scotland – Callum McGregor first goalscorer (25/1 Betway)
