On Thursday afternoon, Scotland kick-off their European Championship 2020 qualification campaign with a long trip to Kazakhstan.
Kazakhstan are one of the minnows of European football. However, although they have not been highly consistent of late, the home side has been hard to beat, as they have suffered just one defeat in their last six international outings.
Last time out, Kazakhstan produced a 1-0 win over Moldova. The wins mean the home side has now recorded four wins in their last 22 outings, which is far from an impressive record. Their recent international outings have been tight affairs of late, with under 2.5 goals scored in five of their last seven matches.
Kazakhstan have been difficult to beat at home, as they have lost just one of their last six home international matches while winning three of their last five games on home soil. However, those aforementioned three wins are their only home wins in 16 international outings.
Scotland have enjoyed mixed results of late in the international game, although the Tartan Army did finish their Nations League campaign with successive victories over Albania and Israel. Despite those recent wins, like their hosts, Scotland’s recent international form has not been great, as they have won just four out of their last 12 matches.
Scotland’s recent games have at least offered entertainment value, as five of their last six matches, including their last four have produced over 2.5 goals.
The visitors have a poor recent away record, as a 4-0 win in Albania ended a three-game losing streak on their travels. Just like their recent games in general, Scotland’s away matches have been high scoring, with eight of their last 11 matches on their travels producing 2.5 goals.
Forebet predicts that Scotland will record a low scoring win to kick-off their European Championship in a positive manner.