The UEFA Nations League comes back up on the agenda on Thursday night with some crunch playoff games including Greece v Scotland.
Scotland signed off on 2024 with eye-catching wins up against Croatia and Poland to book a spot in the League B playoffs as Greece were edged off top spot in their group by England.
Ahead of big night in Piraeus for Steve Clarke, tipster Sam Farley has delivered his best bets for the game including a three-fold long shot Bet Builder.
Greece v Scotland Betting Tips
Greece to win
Both teams to score: Yes
Longshot Bet Builder: Greece to win 2-1, Vangelis Pavlidis to score & Scott Mc Tominay to score
- A Bet Builder on the above pays at approximately 66/1 with Paddy Power. CLICK HERE TO ADD IT TO YOUR BETSLIP.
*All prices are bang up to date with our snazzy widgets, while odds in copy are accurate at time of publishing but subject to change.
WHEN: Thursday, 20th of March, 7.45pm
WHERE: Georgios Karaiskakis Stadium, Piraeus
TV: BBC Scotland, BBC iPlayer
Greece to win
When it comes to picking a winner there’s only one outcome that makes sense and that’s backing Greece to win. After finishing third in their Nations League group it means Steve Clarke’s men need to beat Greece, who finished second behind England, to keep their spot in Group A.
It’s easy to forget, but Greece looked very impressive at times in their Group B campaign, and were unlucky to finish behind England. They won five of their six games, including a hugely impressive 2-1 victory at Wembley, a game that in truth they deserved to win by more. The English were the only team to score against Greece in that campaign, with Ireland and Finland pulling up blanks.
While Scotland managed victories over Poland and Croatia, as well as a 0-0 draw against Portugal, the reality is they’ve been poor, especially on the road. Meanwhile, the Greeks have historically been good at home, making it a tricky place to visit. With the second leg at Hampden it’s a case of surviving this one for Clarke, then trying to win beating on home soil. It might won’t be easy though, with Scotland losing six of their last nine games on the road.
Both teams to score: Yes
It’s worth backing BTTS, despite Greece displaying an impressive defensive return. After all, as much as Scotland seem to be on a never-ending hunt to find a competent striker, they seem to always find a way to score somehow, bagging at least one goal in 10 of their last 12 away games. The issue is that without a striker that’s of truly international standard, they need to rely on other players to stand up tall, something that isn’t sustainable when it comes to actually winning games.
Then there’s the Greeks, this is a team who are handy in front of goal, they scored at least two goals in five of their six Nations League group games, with their only blank coming against England. They have a number of capable goal scorers in their ranks with Vangelis Pavlidis in great form for Benfica this season. Scotland secured a memorable clean sheet against Portugal but that was one of just two shutouts in their previous 18 games, with just one away from Hampden Park.
Longshot Bet Builder – Greece to win 2-1, Pavlidis to score & Mc Tominay to score
We’ve also got a big price Bet Builder that’s based on the two best value bets above. We’re combining a Greek victory and BTTS by backing 2-1 home win as a correct score, with Greece scoring exactly two goals in four of their six group games. Then we’re going to back two scorers.
The first of those is Pavlidis. He’s been unstoppable for Benfica this season, scoring 20 goals, with seven in the Champions League. He’s had some massive games for club and country, scoring the brace that helped Greece beat England at Wembley and putting a hat-trick past Barcelona. He’s fresh off scoring against Rio Ave in Benfica’s win at the weekend and comes into this in strong form.
The other scorer is Scott McTominay, a player who has consistently showed up when his country needs him most. He’s scored 11 times in 58 caps. He’s been used all over the pitch for Scotland, but it’s likely he’ll be an advanced position on Thursday, which should help. He’s become a fan favourite in Naples after his summer move from Man Utd and has already racked up seven goals for the club.
Greece v Scotland Betting Tips
Winner: Greece
Both teams to score: Yes
Longshot Bet Builder: Greece to win 2-1, Vangelis Pavlidis to score & Scott Mc Tominay to score
- A Bet Builder on the above pays at approximately 66/1 with Paddy Power. CLICK HERE TO ADD IT TO YOUR BETSLIP.
*All prices are bang up to date with our snazzy widgets, while odds in copy are accurate at time of publishing but subject to change.
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