Euro 2020 qualifiers: Russia v Scotland betting preview, free tip & TV details

Where to watch

Sky Sports Football, 7.45pm Thursday

Best bet

Russia to win & both teams to score
1pt 16-5 Coral
Back this tip with Coral
L Shankland to score at anytime
1pt 4-1 bet365
Back this tip at bet365

Team news

Russia
Brothers Alexei and Anton Miranchuk miss out along with Fyodor Smolov.

Scotland
Stuart Armstrong has been brought into the squad in place of the injured Oli McBurnie.

Match preview

Scotland's Uefa Nations League exploits mean they are guaranteed a place in the playoffs for next year's European Championships but they have endured a miserable qualifying campaign.

Swapping Alex McLeish for Steve Clarke has failed to spark an upturn in form as the Tartan Army have lost three of their four matches under new boss Clarke.

Their only wins in Group I are a 2-0 success away to minnows San Marino and a laboured 2-1 defeat of Cyprus, settled by an 89th-minute strike from Oliver Burke.

They are second-bottom of the section and Clarke appears more focused on experimenting with his squad than amassing points with group qualification now a slim possibility.

Russia, meanwhile, have been in top form since hosting the 2018 World Cup, finishing with the joint-most points in their Nations League section and enjoying a strong start to Euro 2020 qualification.

Since losing their opener to leaders Belgium, they have won five successive matches including a 9-0 dismantling of San Marino at home and a 2-1 win in the reverse fixture with the Scots.

They won the shot count 17-14 on that occasion and will have more incentive to win at the Luzhniki than the visitors as they aim to solidify their position in the top two.

Clarke has named six uncapped players in his squad for the matches with Russia and San Marino and at least one looks set to feature in the starting line-up.

Dundee United's Lawrence Shankland is the only out-and-out striker named in the group. He plies his trade in Scotland's second tier, where he has already bagged 13 goals this season, seven more than the next highest-scoring player in the division.

The forward is eager to prove a point and coach Steven Reid said he was "fantastic" in his first training session with the national team.

Should Russia establish an early lead, complacency could see Scotland notch a consolation goal and punters should back Shankland to get on the scoresheet.

Key stat

Scotland's last four games have all featured over 2.5 goals.

Sign up to emails from Racing Post Sport and get all the latest news and tips

Today's top sports betting stories

Follow us on Twitter @racingpostsport

Like us on Facebook RacingPostSport