Prediction: Scotland vs Israel

Prediction: Draw

Best Odds: 47/20

Bookmaker: 888sport

Domestic football has been put on pause for a few weeks in favour of the return of the international break – the second one of the new campaign. In the wake of the Euros and Copa America, as well as the Olympics, many would expect this to be a fairly inconsequential few weeks. Alas, the pandemic has ensured we have to speed up the process on the road to Qatar with Scotland and Israel being two of the many European nations attempting to qualify for the 2022 FIFA World Cup.

Scotland

The Scots didn’t make the desired impact at Euro 2020 outside of a nice draw against England but despite that, they still seem fairly upbeat about their chances in World Cup qualifying. They were able to piece together two nice wins in the last international break and even though they aren’t the prettiest team to watch, the fact that they can grind out results will bode well for them in this competitive race to Qatar.

Israel

Israel haven’t had a whole lot of luck when it comes to qualifying for major tournaments and in the current campaign, their biggest theme has been inconsistency. They’ll beat a highly-rated team before being dismantled by the next available side, and there just seems to be no “in-between”. They’ve got every chance at causing an upset here but if they can’t lock things down at the back, there’s no way they’re going to get through the play-offs.

Factors to Consider

• Scotland are 2nd in Group F whereas Israel are 3rd.
• Scotland have won two, drawn one and lost three of their last six games.
• Israel have won four and lost two of their last six games.
• Scotland have scored three goals and conceded seven in their last six games.
• Israel have scored 16 goals and conceded 13 in their last six games.

Conclusion

There’s a certain layer of tension behind this game given the fact that these are the two nations battling it out for the play-off spot in Group F – with Austria on the outside looking in. We expect Scotland to largely neutralise Israel’s ability to break forward but in doing so, they’ll also drag them down to a fairly dull level compared to their last few games. Therefore, we’re predicting a 0-0 draw – with an outside chance of a 1-1 draw and Israel equalising late on.

Prediction: Draw

Best Odds: 47/20

Bookmaker: 888sport