Scotland v Israel predictions: Scots can boost their World Cup hopes

Free football tips, best bets and analysis for Scotland v Israel in World Cup qualifying Group F on Saturday.

Where to watch

Sky Sports Premier League, 5pm Saturday

Best bet

Scotland to win & under 2.5 goals
1pt 11-4 bet365 & BoyleSports

Team news

Scotland
Defender Grant Hanley is suspended but Steve Clarke otherwise has a fully-fit squad to choose from. Southampton’s Stuart Armstrong has been recalled.

Israel
Defender Hatem Elhamed is banned, with Celtic's Nir Bitton set to start in his place. Eitan Tibi and Orel Dgani are also missing from the Israeli backline.

Match preview

Scotland revived their World Cup qualification hopes with September's hard-fought 1-0 wins over Moldova and Austria and they can cement second place in Group F with another narrow victory over nearest challengers Israel.

Euro 2020 semi-finalists Denmark look away and gone at the top of the section, having claimed maximum points from six games, but there is a three-way scrap taking place in the race for a playoff berth.

The Tartan Army are in pole position to follow the Danes home but they are only one point ahead of Israel and four clear of Austria with four fixtures remaining, so can’t rest on their laurels.

The result at Hampden on Saturday will have a huge bearing on determining the finishing order and victory for Scotland, who still face trips to minnows Faroes Islands and Moldova, would put them in a commanding position.

The two nations have become regular opponents of late with Saturday's encounter the pair's fifth meeting since September 2020. Three of those four encounters ended as low-scoring draws - the other was a 1-0 home win for Israel - and it looks wise to expect another tight contest.

However it is Scotland, who secured a 1-1 draw in March’s reverse fixture in Tel-Aviv, who hold the edge at a packed Hampden.

There is now a great Premier League presence in Steve Clarke’s ranks with Andrew Robertson, Kieran Tierney, Scott McTominay and John McGinn providing them with a platform to build on, and that has sparked significant improvement.

Scotland reached their first major finals since 1998 when qualifying for Euro 2020 and they showed great resolve to record those September wins over Moldova and Austria, which came just days after a 2-0 defeat in Denmark.

Even so, the Tartan Army put up a much bolder fight in Copenhagen than Israel, who just six days later were thrashed 5-0 and failed to register a single shot on target.

The lack of a proven goalscorer can come back to bite the Scots at time, so punters who fancy a home win should back them to record a low-scoring success.

Only four of the Tartan Army’s last 17 internationals have featured three or more goals and five of their six wins during that period ended 1-0.

Key stat

There have been just five goals scored in the pair's last four meetings.

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