Greece vs Scotland Prediction: Back a scoring draw in Nations League tussle

The race for Premiership points goes on ice this week, making way for the return of the Nations League. Greece host Scotland in the playoffs, with Steve Clarke’s men battling for top-level survival. BBC Scotland will broadcast Thursday's encounter with kick-off time set for 19:45.

Greece enjoy the home advantage and enter on an excellent run of form. Will they secure a first-leg win? Betfred’s Frank Monkhouse offers his preview ahead of Thursday evening’s showdown and check out his key Greece vs Scotland Predictions below...

Greece want promotion to the UEFA Nations League top table. To achieve it, they must defeat a Scotland side that struggled for points when rubbing shoulders with elite company.

The Greeks finished as runners-up behind England in League B Group 2, surrendering pole position on goal difference. A strong first leg win would set Greece up nicely for the trip to Hampden Park in Glasgow on Sunday evening.

Steve Clarke surprised many when leading his men to League A. The Scots finished second from the bottom of Group 1 behind pool champions Portugal and runners-up Croatia.

Stats of two wins, one draw and three defeats with seven goals scored and eight conceded left Scotland in third place, a win better than Poland. Unbeaten in their last three, Scotland travel confident they can upset their hosts.

Greece vs Scotland Odds

They may be from the tier below their opponents, but Betfred traders expect Ivan Janovic’s team to claim victory. Greece want to avoid having to win in Glasgow, but they are playing great football at home and have the quality to take control of the tie. Fancy Greece to win on Thursday? You can back them as a single or add the home side to your midweek accumulators at odds of even money. That’s sure to be popular.

Things didn’t go according to plan for Clarke at the Tartan Army in League A. They were desperately unlucky on a few occasions and were competitive in every game.

The squad will feel they can perform better if they’re able to beat the drop. Scotland are the underdogs here, but they’ve shown it’s never wise to write them off. Back, Scotland at odds of 3/1 or try your luck on the draw. After back-to-back wins in this tournament, Scotland are in Greece to prove their worth. The level finish is our pick at 21/10.

Both teams to score

Greece are worthy favourites, and their form shows that if the home team is anywhere near their best, they can win the first leg and head to the UK in a commanding position. That’s easier said than done, but Greece scored 11 goals in their six League B games, including a 2-0 win away to Finland late last year.

The Greek's impressive attack now faces a Scotland side that has become skilled at hurting teams on the counter. They scored seven League A goals and will find the net again here.

If Scotland can score past Poland, Croatia, and Portugal, they can score against Greece. Follow our pick on both teams to score in this playoff; it doesn’t matter which team wins. If Greece and Scotland score at least once each, you land the profit.

Match result - Draw

Regular readers of my Scottish football previews and predictions know I don’t advise the draw often, but I’m picking a level finish in the Nations League. Both teams know the value of grabbing an aggregate lead, and both teams are good enough to get the desired result. But Scotland have recent experience matching high-ranking teams, including a draw with Portugal. The squad knows what it takes to grind out results.

The head-to-head stats show Greece and Scotland have met only twice before in competitive action. The Greeks won the first encounter by a 1-0 scoreline at the European Championships in 1994. Scotland then claimed their revenge with a narrow win in 1995. I expect another close game, and the draw looks great value.

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Frank Monkhouse covers Scottish Football for us here at Betfred Insights. You can check out all of his work along with that of the rest of our Football Betting Tips desk on our main Football page...