Scotland VS Lithuania Match Prediction
- 2016-10-08
- 18:45:00
Scotland will win this match.
Scotland are unbeaten in their last five games against Lithuania, so that will give them a lot of confidence going into this match, which will be played at Hampden Park on Saturday.
The last meetings between the teams were in the qualifying campaign for the 2012 European Championship. While Lithuania were able to hold Scotland to a 0-0 draw on home soil, the Scots triumphed 1-0 in front of their own fans thanks to a Steven Naismith goal early in the second half.
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Scotland's chances of qualifying for the 2018 World Cup appear to be slim, but Strachan's men will be targeting second spot in the group and a place in the play-off round as a result. If they are to get that far, however, these are the games they certainly have to win. But Lithuania will not roll over and they are hard to break down, so it looks likely to be a very close match with few goals.
Scotland's price of 1/2 to beat Lithuania is perhaps a little too short, but Strachan's side should win this game, while Lithuania can be backed at odds of 15/2 and the draw is at 10/3.
The safest bets might well be on the goals market, where betting against both teams to score at 13/20 could be lucrative and under 2.5 goals to be scored is also recommended at 13/17. Scotland to win by a single goal at 5/2 looks to be a very good option for this game as well.
Scotland manager Gordon Strachan is likely to name a similar team to the side that won 5-1 in Malta in their first qualifying match of the campaign, with Robert Snodgrass retaining his place after scoring a superb hat-trick in that game. Chris Martin looks to be favourite to start in the lone striker role, while talented young playmaker Oliver Burke should get another chance to impress.
Goalkeeper:- Marshall
Defenders:- Paterson, R Martin, Hanley, Robertson
Midfielders:- Bannan, Fletcher, Burke, Snodgrass, Ritchie
Forwards:- C Martin
A 2-2 draw at home to Slovenia last time out was a creditable result for Lithuania, but they will be disappointed not to have won the match having taken a 2-0 lead in the first half of the game.
Goalscorers Fedor Cernych and Vykintas Slivka are both expected to be in the team again for this game, with Cernych also the captain of the team. In addition, his six international goals make him the most prolific member of the Lithuania squad for this match.
Goalkeeper:- Setkus
Defenders:- Vaitkunas, Freidgeimas, Girdvainis, Slavickas
Midfielders:- Zulpa, Kuklys, Novikovas, Slivka, Cernych
Forwards:- Matulevicius