Scotland v Cyprus predictions: Scots can secure low-scoring success

Where to watch Scotland v Cyprus

Viaplay Sports 1, 2pm Saturday

Best bet

Scotland and under 3.5 goals
1pt 20-23 BoyleSports

Scotland v Cyprus odds

Scotland 1-4
Cyprus 14-1
Draw 5-1

Odds correct at time of publish

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Scotland v Cyprus team news

Scotland
Lyndon Dykes overcame pneumonia to feature in the last three matches for QPR and could be asked to partner Che Adams in attack. Jack Hendry is injured and Ryan Fraser has been overlooked after his lack of activity for Newcastle.

Cyprus
Cyprus have travelled to Glasgow without star striker Pieros Sotiriou, who was injured while played for his Japanese club Sanfrecce Hiroshima this month.

Scotland v Cyprus predictions

Scotland have developed a knack of grinding out low-scoring victories and should find a way to overcome Cyprus in their Euro 2024 qualifying opener at Hampden Park.

The Scots missed out on a place at the 2022 World Cup after a 3-1 home defeat to Ukraine in their playoff semi-final.

However, they had defended with greater discipline in the qualifying group stage, keeping clean sheets in six of their ten matches.

Last summer was a difficult period for Steve Clarke's men, who had to face a trio of Nations League games immediately after their dispiriting loss to Ukraine. And it was perhaps understandable that there was a loss of focus when they succumbed to a 3-0 defeat to Ireland in Dublin.

However, Scotland's reputation for defensive diligence was soon restored when they took seven points from three September Nations League games, conceding just one goal, and secured promotion to League A.

Reaching the top tier of the Nations League was a decent achievement but Clarke's team will be judged on whether they can consistently qualify for major competitions.

And the Scots are facing a major challenge in Euro 2024 qualifying after being drawn in a tough section alongside heavyweights Spain and rising powers Norway and Georgia.

Cyprus at home looks the easiest of the eight games, so it is imperative that Scotland take maximum points, irrespective of performance.

The onus is on the Scots to do most of the attacking and Clarke's offensive options are boosted by the availability of QPR striker Lyndon Dykes, who suffered a seven-week layoff between January and March after contracting pneumonia.

Dykes could be asked to play up alongside Che Adams in a physical Scotland attack which should be well-serviced by attacking wingbacks Aaron Hickey and Andy Robertson.

Cyprus will be steeling themselves for an onslaught but they have shown greater defensive resilience under their Georgian head coach Temuri Ketsbaia, who was handed the reins last summer.

Ketsbaia's first match in charge was an eye-catching 1-0 Nations League success at home to Greece, although it was swiftly followed by a 5-1 loss away to Kosovo three days later.

Two such contrasting performances make it tricky to judge Ketsbaia's outfit, although their chances of getting on the front foot against Scotland are weakened by the absence of their star striker, Pieros Sotiriou.

Cyprus may focus a little more on keeping things tight but they haven't kept a clean sheet on their last four road trips and could slip to a low-scoring loss in Glasgow.

Key stat

There have been no more than two goals in six of Scotland's last seven matches 

Probable teams

Scotland (3-4-1-2): Gunn; Cooper, Hanley, Tierney; Hickey, McTominay, McGregor, Robertson; McGinn; Dykes, Adams.
Subs: Clark, Christie, McLean, Brown, Jack, Gilmour, Armstrong, Patterson, Porteous, Ferguson.

Cyprus (4-3-3): Panagi; Kousoulos, Roberge, Laifis, Ioannou; Kyriakou, Kastanos, Artymatas; Loizou, Kakoulis, Tzionis.
Subs: Demetriou, Pittas, Efrem, Christofi, Charalambous, Spoljaric, Gogic, Antoniades, Antoniou, Karo.

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