The top two in Group A face off at Hampden Park on Tuesday evening as Scotland and Georgia aim to enhance their chances of qualifying for Euro 2024.
First-placed Scotland find themselves five points clear of second-placed Georgia, although the Georgians have a game in hand over the Scots.
Until the very end 💪Get closer to a dramatic victory in Olso with our #ScotlandHQ View highlights.#NORSCO pic.twitter.com/xDZae2iNZP— Scotland National Team (@ScotlandNT) June 18, 2023
Until the very end 💪Get closer to a dramatic victory in Olso with our #ScotlandHQ View highlights.#NORSCO pic.twitter.com/xDZae2iNZP
With Spain sitting six points behind Scotland – and Norway and Cyprus occupying the bottom two spots – Steve Clarke’s men have set themselves up for a successful qualifying campaign.
Scotland came from behind to beat Norway 2-1 on Saturday, with late goals from Lyndon Dykes and Kenny McLean cancelling out Erling Haaland’s opener.
That means the Tartan Army have won each of their opening three qualifiers, defeating Cyprus 3-0 and Spain 2-0 back in March.
Thanks to a strong end to the Euro 2020 qualifying campaign, Scotland have avoided defeat in each of their previous eight European Championship qualifiers.
It is also worth noting that Scotland have lost just four of their last 29 home games across all competitions, so they will be confident of extending their hot streak at Hampden Park.
As for Georgia, they claimed a 2-1 victory over Cyprus on Saturday, courtesy of goals from Georges Mikautadze and Zuriko Davitashvili.
Following a 1-1 draw with Norway in their opening qualifier, the Georgians have taken four points from a possible six in Group A.
Georgia have now avoided defeat in each of their last 10 competitive matches, picking up eight wins and two draws along the way.
That said, Georgia have managed to win just three of their previous 20 Euro qualifiers away from home, meaning they could struggle to get the better of Scotland.
Head-to-head: Scotland and Georgia have faced each other four times over the years, during qualification for Euro 2008 and Euro 2016.
Between 2007 and 2015, Scotland and Georgia both claimed two victories in this fixture, while three of those games produced under 2.5 goals.
Team news: Scotland’s squad contains several Premier League stars, including Andy Robertson, John McGinn, Kieran Tierney, Scott McTominay and Billy Gilmour.
Georgia’s star man is Napoli’s Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, while captain Guram Kashia is set to make his 104th international appearance on Tuesday.
Although Georgia remain unbeaten in Group A, Scotland have won each of their first three matches and will be confident of extending their winning streak.
With that in mind, Forebet predicts that Scotland will claim a low-scoring victory over Goergia, keeping a clean sheet in the process.