Analysis and prediction for Scotland vs Belarus: The away team will become easy targets.
The World Cup qualifying match between Scotland and Belarus will take place at 11:00 PM on October 12th. Nghe An newspapers, radio, and television will analyze form, provide football commentary, and predict the score.
Latest information on the Scotland vs Belarus team lineups.
Despite their spectacular comeback victory against Greece, Scotland will be forced to make personnel changes for their match against Belarus. Both goalscorers, Lewis Ferguson and Ryan Christie, are suspended, while defender Aaron Hickey is suffering from a knee injury.
Anthony Ralston replaced Hickey at right-back, while Max Johnston was called up as a backup. In midfield, Billy Gilmour is the leading candidate for a starting spot.
Goalkeeper Angus Gunn – who kept clean sheets against Denmark and Belarus, and made a crucial save against Greece – is guaranteed to start for his new club Nottingham Forest, even though he hasn't yet played for them.
Up front, Lyndon Dykes has scored three of Scotland's ten goals coming off the bench and could continue his "super-sub" role this weekend. Torino striker Che Adams – who scored in the first leg – is likely to retain his starting place.
On the other side of the pitch, Belarus is expected to make significant changes after conceding 6 goals and facing 24 shots on goal against Denmark.
Coach Carlos Alos will most likely switch to a five-defender formation, with midfielder Max Ebong (FC Astana) playing in the center. Young striker Trofim Melnichenko – currently on loan from Porto – is expected to start in attack.
Latest predicted lineups for Scotland vs Belarus
Scottish:
Gunn; Ralston, Souttar, Hanley, Robertson; Gilmour, McLean; McGinn, McTominay, Doak; Adams
Belarus:
Pavlyuchenko; Karpovich, Parkhomenko, Zabelin, Volkov, Pyachenin; Myakish, Kalinin, Ebong; Melnichenko, Barkovsky
Latest football match prediction: Scotland vs Belarus
Scotland's dream of ending a 28-year wait to return to the World Cup was given a huge boost on Thursday night when the home side overcame play-off rivals Greece at Hampden Park.
Having lost to Greece in the Nations League last season, Steve Clarke's side played unconvincingly for much of the match and fell behind with less than 30 minutes remaining.
However, Scotland's renowned fighting spirit came to the fore at the right moment: Ryan Christie quickly equalized, then Lewis Ferguson scored the first goal for the national team to put the home side ahead.
Lyndon Dykes then capitalized on a mistake by the Greek goalkeeper to seal a 3-1 victory, giving Scotland the same 7 points as group leaders Denmark, although they still trail considerably on goal difference.
Previously, the team in blue had drawn 0-0 away against Denmark and won 2-0 against Belarus, so this victory brings them even closer to securing their first World Cup qualification since 1998.
The upcoming match will be Steve Clarke's 72nd time managing the Scotland national team – a record number in the club's history. During that time, he has achieved 31 victories, including 18 wins in major tournament qualifying rounds.
To qualify directly for the World Cup, Scotland needs to finish higher than Denmark in their group. The clash between the two teams next month will likely be a "final" to decide the top spot in the group.
For now, if Scotland secure another home win and Greece lose to Denmark, they will be guaranteed at least a play-off spot.
As for Belarus, the visiting team is currently ranked 100th in the world according to the FIFA rankings – far behind Scotland's 43rd position – and their performance in this campaign somewhat accurately reflects their true strength.
Following three consecutive defeats in Group C, Belarus has lost its last 10 World Cup qualifying matches, scoring only 4 goals and frequently conceding heavily.
The 0-6 defeat to Denmark on neutral ground in Hungary on Thursday was the clearest evidence: they were four goals down in the first half – their second-worst defeat since separating from the Soviet Union.
Spanish coach Carlos Alos had previously witnessed his team's defeat against Scotland, shortly after opening with a 1-5 loss to Greece. Given the current situation, Belarus's most realistic goal is simply to minimize the number of goals conceded.
The upcoming match will be Belarus's third visit to Glasgow. They lost 1-4 in 1997 and won 1-0 in 2005, but repeating that feat at this point is highly unlikely.
Latest Scotland vs Belarus score prediction
Based on the above football analysis, we and leading football websites worldwide have provided our predictions for the match.Scotland vs Belarusas follows:
- Sportsmole:Scotland 2-0 Belarus
- WhoScore:Scotland 2-1 Belarus
- We predict:Scotland 2-0 Belarus
When and where can I watch Scotland vs Belarus live?
To watch the Scotland vs Belarus match live in the World Cup qualifiers at 11:00 PM on October 12th, viewers can tune in to the following channels:K+ Sport,K+PMor online sports channels. We hope you enjoy watching football.
