Scotland v France: Six Nations match preview, odds, prediction & free tip

Free football tips, best bets and analysis for Scotland v France in the 2020 Six Nations Championship.

Where to watch

BBC1, 3pm Sunday

Best bet

Scotland +6
2pts Evs Sky Bet

Scotland v France match preview

France overcame a huge test by holding on to beat Wales in Cardiff in round three of the Six Nations but another tough assignment awaits them against Scotland at Murrayfield on Sunday.

Les Bleus have gone through an overhaul in 2020, with a new coaching team and a raft of fresh faces brought into the squad. But the biggest thing that needed to change was the hopeless inconsistency that had become their hallmark.

In the opening round of last year's Six Nations, and again in the quarter-final of the Rugby World Cup in October, France proved themselves incapable of holding on to a big lead over Wales as they imploded to lose both games.

Home wins over England and Italy in this campaign suggested there was some substance to the talk of a new-look France, but last month's 27-24 win in Cardiff was a much stronger confirmation and also saw Les Bleus cut to odds-on to win the Six Nations title.

A Dan Biggar try five minutes from the end earned Wales a bonus point, but the scores were close for long spells and France owed a great deal to Romain Ntamack's 60-metre interception try that halted Wales's bright start to the second half.

Scotland away ought to be less of a test for France than going to the Principality Stadium, and although the pressure increases as a Grand Slam draws closer, beating Wales was a sign of their new mental strength.

But Scotland are tough opponents in their own right and they are growing into this tournament after a difficult start.

It has been confirmed that fly-half Finn Russell, their best player alongside captain Stuart Hogg, won't feature in this campaign after his fallout with coach Gregor Townsend, but the half-back pairing of Ali Price and Adam Hastings has proved more than up to the job.

Scotland stayed within the handicap against Ireland in round one, hit the bar against England with a dogged performance before going down 13-6, and comfortably beat Italy to nil last time out.

That was their first win of the campaign but although they are languishing in fifth place in the table, they have the best defensive record with just 32 points and two tries conceded.

They can at least keep this close, and it's worth backing the Scots with a six-point start rather than a narrow France win as they are not without hope of upsetting France's Grand Slam dreams.

Scotland have won their last three Murrayfield encounters with France including a World Cup warm-up last August.

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