Prediction: Armenia vs Scotland

Verdict: Total goals under 2.5

Best odds: 7/10

Bookmaker: Unibet

Armenia and Scotland are scheduled to do battle in the fourth round of League B Group 1 of the UEFA Nations League on Tuesday, at the Vazgen Sargsyan Republican Stadium in Yerevan. It will be the final match of this stage of the competition for either team, with the following fixtures set to take place in September.

Armenia

Having finished fourth in Group J of the World Cup qualifications in Europe, behind Germany, North Macedonia and Romania, Armenia failed to qualify for the tournament later this year. In all honesty, few people will have expected them to, even though the group wasn’t among the toughest out there.

Nonetheless, Joaquin Caparros’ team started the Nations League with a 1-0 win over the Republic of Ireland as Eduard Spertsyan scored the only goal of the game. But the opening victory was followed by consecutive defeats, 2-0 away to Scotland and 3-0 away to Ukraine. That last match was played at the Stadion LSK in Lodz, Poland, due to the ongoing conflicts in Ukraine. Ruslan Malinovskyi, Oleksandr Karavayev and Vitaly Mykolenko hit the target as Ukraine impressed with an excellent display in the face of war.

So, with just the three points from that opening-day win over Ireland, Armenia sit bottom of the group on goal-difference, behind Scotland in third place and Ireland in second. Ukraine, of course, lead the way with six points.

Team News

Pyunik midfielder Artak Dashyan was replaced with an injury against Ukraine and he’s expected to make way in the starting XI for Vahan Bichakhchyan. Given that Armenia failed to score in the last two matches, it wouldn’t be too surprising to see Club Brugge striker Sargis Adamyan start upfront this time.

Scotland

Scotland’s opening-day fixture, which was to be played against Ukraine, has been pushed back and will now take place on September 21st. Consequently, Scotland (and Ukraine, of course) have a game in hand on Armenia and Ireland at the moment. As has been said, Ukraine top the group despite their troubles, while Scotland sits directly above Armenia. Given the proximity between all four teams in terms of points, their respective positions in the group table mean very little at this point.

Anthony Ralston and Scott McKenna found the back of the net against Armenia at Hampden Park in Glasgow, but then the Irish shocked the Scots as Alan Brown, Troy Parrott and Michael Obafemi struck a blow each in Dublin, without any answer at the other end. Scotland fans didn’t hide their feelings after that match, and captain Andy Robertson later admitted he and his team deserved what they got from the away end at the Aviva Stadium.

Their supporters were already unhappy before this competition started, as their team failed to pass through the World Cup play-offs due to losing in the semifinals to none other than Ukraine.

Team News

Robertson had an extremely exhausting season with Liverpool and it wouldn’t exactly be a surprise if he was left on the bench in favour of Bologna left-back Aaron Hickey. Arsenal star Kieran Tierney isn’t with his national team due to injury. Chelsea youngster Billy Gilmour and Southampton’s Stuart Armstrong are set to continue in the middle of the park, but Jacob Brown could start ahead of Che Adams.

Conclusion

Expect a tough game with both sides putting in a lot of effort, but anything over two goals combined would be surprising.

Verdict: Total goals under 2.5

Best odds: 7/10

Bookmaker: Unibet