Scottish and Greek fans look set for a day of drama when they conclude their promotion/relegation playoff at Hampden Park this afternoon, writes WILLIAM KEDJANYI.
Steve Clarke’s side, carrying a one-goal lead into the second leg, dominated the early exchanges in their first meeting, with Scott McTominay’s first penalty deserved reward for a very bright start, and just reward for Steve Clarke starting Bologna’s Lewis Ferguson alongside John McGinn. In the second half, the tables were turned, especially after Ivan Jovanovic introduced 17-year-old Genk midfielder Konstantinos Karetsa.
His influence ended up contributing to the Greeks winning the shot count 24-8, posting 18 of those efforts after half-time, and creating an xG figure of 2.86 to 1.4 for Scotland. Only one of Greece’s 18 second-half shots was on target, so it would look likely that Benfica striker Vangelis Pavlidis – who has 20 goals in 45 games for club and country this season – isn’t given the nod ahead of Fotis Ioannidis upfront to give the visitors more cutting edge.
They will need to break down what’s sure to be a resilient Scottish side who mastered “the dirty side of the game” in midweek. Defenders Grant Hanley and John Souttar were superb, protecting Craig Gordon exceptionally well, and Scotland’s recent Nations League record should encourage home fans.
⭐ SCOTLAND V GREECE STARSPORTS.BET MARKETS ⭐
Scotland v Greece
UEFA Nations League Play-Off 2nd Leg
20:00 BBC Two Scotland / BBC iPlayer / BBC Sport Website
LAST FIVE STATS
HEAD-TO-HEAD
MAR 2025 UEFA NATIONS LEAGUE PLAY-OFF Greece 0-1 Scotland
AUG 1995 EURO CHAMPIONSHIPS Scotland 1-0 Greece
DEC 1994 EURO CHAMPIONSHIPS Greece 1-0 Scotland
SCOTLAND
MAR 2025 UEFA NATIONS LEAGUE PLAY-OFF Greece 0-1 Scotland
NOV 2024 UEFA NATIONS LEAGUE Poland 1-2 Scotland
NOV 2024 UEFA NATIONS LEAGUE Scotland 1-0 Croatia
OCT 2024 UEFA NATIONS LEAGUE Scotland 0-0 Portugal
OCT 2024 UEFA NATIONS LEAGUE Croatia 2-1 Scotland
GREECE
MAR 2025 UEFA NATIONS LEAGUE PLAY-OFF Greece 0-1 Scotland
NOV 2024 UEFA NATIONS LEAGUE Finland 0-2 Greece
NOV 2024 UEFA NATIONS LEAGUE Greece 0-3 England
OCT 2024 UEFA NATIONS LEAGUE Greece 2-0 Ireland
OCT 2024 UEFA NATIONS LEAGUE England 1-2 Greece
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Scotland managed to keep crucial clean sheets against a star-studded Portugal side and Croatia to save their Nations League status at the backend of last year and that grit will play a key part in their challenge.
With a one-goal advantage – and the bonus of having Bournemouth’s Ryan Christie available – Steve Clarke has the tactical advantage here, with the visitors needing to come forward. It’s not likely to be a simple task for either side though, as Greece will need to come forward at some point, leaving them potentially exposed at the break.
The match odds with starsports.bet are hard to weigh up, and a good case can be made for all three outcomes. The visitors were unlucky not to have scored at least once on Thursday and could have more cutting edge with Vangelis Pavlidis starting upfront whilst Jovanovic could give a starting position to Konstantinos Karetsa in midfield too.
Scotland defended with great heart on Thursday but didn’t find a way to contain Karetsa in midfield and would be lucky to prevent Greece from scoring if they have the same form. 3/4 about Greece draw no bet could be the best strategic play, as a goalfest is unlikely according to recent Scottish performances – Six of Scotland’s last nine Nations League home games have gone under 2.5 goals.
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