European 2018 World Cup qualifying continues this weekend with one of the more intriguing contests being the Scotland vs Lithuania showdown at Hampden Park in Glasgow, Scotland this Saturday, October 8th. This is the second match for each of these Group F teams with Scotland winning their first outing and Lithuania drawing theirs. Other teams in the six-team group are England, Slovenia, Slovakia and Malta.
Scotland vs Lithuania – Pinnacle Soccer Betting Line:
- Pinnacle currently lists Scotland as the favorites to win the game at -204 with Lithuania +750 and a draw at +323
Scotland vs Lithuania – Head to Head:
These two nations have met a total of nine times in the past with Scotland winning five, losing just once and drawing the other three. Their last meeting came in September of 2011 with Scotland winning 1-0 at home. Lithuania’s lone win came in April of 2003 with a 1-0 decision at home. Scotland has a win and a draw in the last five encounters. All nine previous meetings were European Championship qualifying games.
Scotland – A Closer Look:
Scotland shares the lead in Group F with three points. Robert Snodgrass scored a hat-trick in their first contest as they downed Malta 5-1 on the road. Scotland has been playing quite well at home lately with seven wins in their past 10 encounters at Hampden Park. Their only losses in that stretch were against England and Germany. Scotland enters this clash ranked number 44 in the world by FIFA and have been quite successful while playing against nations ranked between 70 and 120. Since 2008, Scotland has won nine, drawn one and lost just once to those lower-ranked teams while playing at home. They’ve also managed clean sheets in each of the past six victories in those games.
Lithuania – A Closer Look:
Lithuania enters the game as the 117th-ranked nation in the world by FIFA. They blew a two-goal lead at home in their opening qualifier as they had to settle for a 2-2 draw at home against Slovenia. Lithuania has problems when playing away from home, especially when meeting higher-ranked nations. They’ve won just three road games out of 32 since 2008 with half a dozen draws and 23 defeats. In addition, they’ve managed to score in just three of their past 12 away outings and have been shut out in the other nine. They’ll be facing Scotland side which has recorded a clean sheet in seven out of their past eight home triumphs.
Scotland vs Lithuania – Takeaway:
Scotland was the only British team that failed to qualify for the European Championships in France this summer and will be trying to make up for it by earning spot at the 2018 World Cup in Russia. This is an excellent opportunity to take three points and retain their share of the group lead.
by Ian S. Palmer