allyhibs

I wasn't being entirely serious about 5 at the back etc, it's just Steve Clarke is boring me to tears with his ultra cautious, dull, turgid football. We actually have a decent group of players at the moment, things should be a bit more entertaining. Super John scores again though, ooft.
Great result for you guys, the Czechs are a decent side but Belgium are on a different level.

Scotland should win tonight but I wouldn't be betting on it being comfortable. Clarke will probably set us up with 5 at the back, 2 holding and 1 up front and be happy with a 1 goal win. 

My initial thoughts were a draw also Steve but on seeing the team it looks to me like we're going a bit more attacking, more pace up front with Ritchie and Adams, rather than long punts to Dykes, formation looks like McGinn can play more advanced also. I think we can win this. McGinn with his customary goal of course.
 
 
 
 

Didn't back the draw unfortunately, I thought Scotland were far too defensive, Clarke needs to realise some games can be won by having a go at the other team.
Did back McGinn anytime at 5.50 though, my man crush on the legend that is Super John just gets deeper and deeper.

I think this is one of those games where Scotland need to be at their best to get anything from. Austria are a good side with some top players but Clarke has us well organised with a sprinkling of top players also, a low scoring draw wouldn't be a surprise.
John McGinn for anytime scorer's a great shout, funnily enough, I was thinking the same driving home from work.
 

Unfortunately I had to go to work this morning Steve so celebrations were muted but that was a very well deserved and hard earned result. It's true it took a while for me to be convinced by Steve Clarke, his squad selections and results were poor to start with but it's clear that he's found a system that works and solved a couple of problems on the way, the belief the players have in themselves is clear as day and that goes a long way in football.
Finding a way to fit Tierney and Robertson into the side, dropping McTominay deeper, bringing in Declan Gallacher and Lyndon Dykes are all pieces of good management, he's even managed to get Callum MacGregor to finally show his Celtic form for his country. ( Dykes especially has been very good since coming in, does the job he's being asked to do superbly well). There's some decent young talent emerging also and for the first time in a long, long time, I'm looking forward to what this group could be capable of, we're certainly moving in the right direction.

Well said mate.
I'll just ignore the troll, he's got history of arguing for the sake of it, clueless.

Rangers have been impressive this season, they're a very good side and could cause Standard a few problems, they'll certainly be in a very positive mood after just beating Celtic. With the news of players missing for the home side, backing Rangers looks tempting  but I think I'd be looking for better odds than the 2.05 that's widely available. It certainly wouldn't surprise me if they got a result though, as far as I can tell, they look like they're at full strength tonight.

Rangers have been impressive this season, they're a very good side and could cause Standard a few problems, they'll certainly be in a very positive mood after just beating Celtic. With the news of players missing for the home side, backing Rangers looks tempting  but I think I'd be looking for better odds than the 2.05 that's widely available. It certainly wouldn't surprise me if they got a result though, as far as I can tell, they look like they're at full strength tonight.

Republic of Ireland vs Wales
The UEFA Nations League continues this weekend. Is it just me or has international football gone a little mad lately with so many games heading at us? Here, we take a look at the League B4 fixture of Republic of Ireland versus Wales in a 2pm BST kick-off at the Aviva Stadium on Sunday afternoon. Can the Irish earn a first win in the group against a Welsh side that tops the group with a 100% record?
Republic of Ireland are picking themselves up after their demoralising defeat on penalties against Slovakia after a 0-0 draw out in Bratislava in the 2020 European Championship Qualification Play-Off Semi-Finals. Head coach Stephen Kenny was ruing a number of gilt-edged chances that his side missed in the game. Attention now turns to a Nations League campaign that has seen them only take 1 point from their opening 2 group games after a 1-1 draw away to Bulgaria and a 1-0 loss at home to Finland. The fact this Irish side have only managed to score 1 goal in their last 3 matches shows where their main issue lies.
Wales took the bizarre decision to play a friendly game against England at Wembley even though they had two competitive games to play after that game in this international break. Unsurprisingly, a weakened Welsh team that was without the likes of Gareth Bale, Aaron Ramsey, Joe Allen, and David Brooks starting struggled and suffered a 3-0 loss. Hopefully, Ryan Giggs will have learned a lot from that loss and his team can build on the two 1-0 victories his team have earned against Finland and Bulgaria in their first two group games. Bale remains out injured but reports are that Ramsey has left the Juventus covid bubble to join his team mates which is a huge boost.
You can imagine where this game is heading. Every single one of the previous 14 competitive Republic of Ireland games have ended in less than 2.5 goals being scored and 7 of the last 8 competitive Wales matches have witnessed fewer than 2.5 goals being scored. The last time these two sides met in Dublin was back in October 2018 and it ended in a 1-0 win for Wales. I'm quietly optimistic Wales can win 1-0 again but I wouldn't be surprised if Republic of Ireland ground out a 0-0 draw.
Wales Draw No Bet @ 1.91 with Betfred
Total Goals Scored Under 1.5 @ 2.55 with 888Sport

Scotland v Slovakia.
With Steve Clarke continuing to bore everyone to sleep, I can't quite believe Scotland are odds on to win this. Slovakia aren't exactly world beaters but they look overpriced to beat a side who played 120 minutes the other night and didn't get 1 shot on target against the might of Israel. I could never bet on my team to lose however, so my bet for this has to be the same as the Israel game, under goals.
Under 1.5 goals @ 2.75 - 1pt.
Israel v Czech Republic.
The Czech C team were impressive against Scotland and were unbelievably unlucky not to win the game, you have to think the A team are a much higher quality than Israel, the away win odds look overpriced to me. Max bet.
Czech Republic @ 2.20 - 4pts.

Agree completely @BrandNew, I wouldn't bet on Scotland with someone else's money. If I was forced to bet on this game it would be on under goals, I don't think this'll be an entertaining goal fest, 1 goal either way could win it.

Agree completely @BrandNew, I wouldn't bet on Scotland with someone else's money. If I was forced to bet on this game it would be on under goals, I don't think this'll be an entertaining goal fest, 1 goal either way could win it.

We don't learn do we?! 

Scotland really should be beating a Czech b team but I won't be betting on it, Clark just hasn't got the team performing at all and this could be another embarrassing result in a long line of embarrassing results. No bet for me.

Put your mortgage on Scotland to get beat on Monday, that was pathetic.

Iceland are apparently without five key players and are a shadow of the team that took them to the Euros and WC a few years ago. England were on fire last year, scored 38 and conceded 9 in 10 games (WLD: 7/1/2).
if there’s going to be a 5-0 pumping in this round then this game will be it. England -4.5 is 15.00 which is down from 19.00 on Tuesday afternoon, obviously adjust the handicap for the risk you want to take but if that’s not worth a fiver I don’t know what is.
 
And I’m Scottish so I don’t have any vested interest in that one. But as for Scotland I’d say under 2.5 goals, our striker options are limited (to say the least) and the last two games against them were close. No value in under 2.5 though.
Provided Clarke puts out the best team possible it should be a Scotland win as games are won in midfield and the defence should be pretty solid, wouldn’t bet on it being by more than a goal though.
Says it all that the shortest odds player to score for Scotland is Dykes (2.88 at anytime, insane), who will make his debut. He’s the only actual striker. Forrest, who is being called a striker for reasons past the comprehension of mere mortals like myself, is 4.20 at any time.
It will presumably be a 4-5-1 with Dykes up front, I can’t see any other option. McGinn to score first at 8.00 is my “I think this will happen but don’t have the balls to bet on it” prediction.
 
But the England game should be an annihilation.
 

Scotland vs Israel
The opening games of Group B2 in the UEFA Nations League kick-off on Friday night when Scotland begin their campaign at home against Israel at Hampden Park. This is a clash between two teams that have underwhelmed over recent years and will be seeing this tournament as a chance to ignite their form in time to start the 2022 World Cup qualification campaign.
Scotland fans are longing for the days gone by where qualifying for international tournaments was almost expected. It's now been 22 years since the team last qualified for a major tournament which was the 1998 World Cup. Head coach Steve Clarke will look to put the disappointment of the 2020 European Championship qualification campaign behind him and move in a more positive direction. Clarke has chosen a largely inexperienced squad with only David Marshall, Andrew Robertson, John McGinn, and James Forrest having earned more than 20 caps. Tightening the defence will be a priority for Clarke with Scotland having only kept 2 clean sheets in their last 14 matches. The team is currently on a run of three matches unbeaten which is encouraging even if those wins came against San Marino, Cyprus, and Kazakhstan. The challenge will be larger here.
Israel has flirted with the prospect of qualifying from major international tournaments ever since they joined the European section back in 1991 but have so far since failed to reach a major finals. Caretaker head coach Willibald Ruttensteiner is hardly a household name and doesn't really have the most talented squad at his disposal. Away form is a real problem for Israel having lost 9 of their last 11 away international matches. However, with both teams scoring in 7 of their last 10 games we might be forgiven for hoping for some goals in this one.
I've not had much confidence in Clarke's management so far to back Scotland to win games recently. It'll be interesting to see how much progress he has made with his preparations and approach over the past 10 months. I think you have to say this is a game they need to win if they're to avoid an inquiry. I'm not very hopeful of Scotland winning this game easily or in style but it'll be hugely disappointing if they fail to take the victory.
Scotland to Win @ 2.10 with Unibet
BTTS @ 2.00 with Bet365

Nice @harry_rag, or should i call you the penalty guru 
Backed the penalty and it was never in doubt 

Barcelona vs Bayern Munich
The Champions League Quarter-Final action continues for another night here when La Liga runners up Barcelona host Bundesliga champions Bayern Munich in an 8pm BST kick-off on Friday night at the Estadio da Luz in Lisbon. European ties don't get much bigger than this and we'll see one of the favourites for this competition go out here. The winners will play the victors of the Manchester City versus Lyon clash.
Barcelona have had a season to forget simply because they lost out to Real Madrid in the battle for the league title. Quique Setien managed to avoid a potential banana skin in the last round with a 4-2 aggregate win over Napoli. This is a whole new proposition though. Defensive issues continue to plague this Barcelona side with the Catalan team only managing to keep two clean sheets in their 8 Champions League matches so far. If Barcelona win this and reach the Semi-Finals then it will be the first time they have reached that stage of the competition in two consecutive seasons since their 2012/13 run.
Bayern Munich are looking very strong right now. Hans-Dieter Flick's side humiliated Chelsea in the previous round by a 7-1 score-line. The Bavarian side now look to continue an 18-game winning run against the Spanish team. It's a Bayern team that is full of goal scoring potential with an average of 3.9 goals scored per game in the Champions League this season and boast a 100% record in this competition. The Germans haven't won this competition since their success in the 2012/13 season but they are arguably in their strongest position yet to break that duck.
This will be the first meeting between these two sides in this competition since the 2014/15 season. On that occasion, it was Barcelona who prevailed victorious but it is Bayern Munich that Barcelona have lost more Champions League matches against than any other team having lost 5 of their 8 encounters. I am expecting that bad record to get even worse with a solid Bayern Munich win here.
Bayern Munich to Win @ 2.05 with BetVictor
Total Goals Scored Over 3.5 @ 2.10 with Betfair

Polish ref Marciniak is in charge tonight. To simplify things he "likes a pen" and is nothing exceptional in terms of cards. I was a bit surprised at the low spread quotes for tonight's game (you can buy bookings at 48 when I was expecting low to mid 50s) and, despite low totals in his 4 games this season, I still think there's some upside when you consider his overall stats in UEFA competitions.
I've backed a penalty taken at 12/5 with Hills and bought penalty goal minutes at 14 with SPIN. I've also backed >40 booking points at 10/11 with PP.

Heidenheim vs Werder Bremen
The second leg of the Bundesliga relegation play-off is scheduled to take place on Monday night at 7:30pm BST between second tier Heidenheim and top flight Werder Bremen at the Voith-Arena. The tie is finely balanced after a 0-0 draw in the first leg so which team will seize the initiative and secure the win to either earn promotion or achieve survival depending on who earns the victory?
Heidenheim stand on the brink of earning promotion to the Bundesliga for the first time in their history. Head coach Frank Schmidt will be pleased with his side's efforts in the first leg but their inability to get that decisive goal will have left him frustrated. Even more so because it was against an opponent that has been vulnerable at home this season and was reduced to 10-men on 76 minutes after the sending off of Niklas Moisander. That draw now meant it's just 3 wins from their last 7 matches in all competitions. Still, they come into this match with home advantage and the opportunity is there for this set of players to create history for this small club from Baden-Wurttemburg.
Werder Bremen know that they need a big performance in this game. Head coach Florian Kohfeldt will surely see his job under threat if the giants of German football suffer a humiliating relegation to Bundesliga II by failing to win this tie. The team were fortunate enough to get away with that 0-0 draw despite having a men sent off with 14 minutes remaining. The team has won 3 of their last 4 leagues matches on the road so they'll be quietly confident they can seal the win. The absence of Moisander for this game could be an issue but we'll see.
I am torn for this game. There is so much pressure on the Werder Bremen players to deliver a result here. Relegation is almost unfathomable for a club the size of Werder but that's the grim reality facing them. Heidenheim had their opportunity to put this tie to bed last week but they failed. I think that could come back to haunt them. A narrow Werder Bremen win is on the cards here.
Werder Bremen to Win @ 2.00 with 888Sport
Total Goals Scored Under 2.5 @ 1.75 with VBet

@allyhibs
No var on this match + ref Marciniak... He like to be a "star". Also i dont see value here on Legia but of course Legia is much better than Górnik. 
I dont trust Legia here (as a Legia fan) ?

yeah, I read @Teodore 
How come no bet for Legia Warsaw? I was considering them for an acca.

Sevilla vs Real Betis
La Liga is officially back! In an effort to help us remember where all the teams stand heading into this restart of the league I'm going to offer a preview for every game in the Spanish top flight this weekend. First up, it's the El Gran Derbi between Sevilla and Real Betis in a 9pm BST kick-off on Thursday night at the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan. Who will take the points and the bragging rights?
Sevilla entered the suspension of the league in 3rd place and firmly locked in an intense battle to qualify for next season's Champions League with rival sides Real Sociedad, Getafe, Atletico Madrid, and Valencia. Former Spain head coach Julen Lopetegui was appointed as the manager back last summer and his influence has been felt immediately. The team is only 10 points off the pace of the league title. That might seem like a big gap but when you consider how frequently Barcelona and Real Madrid run away with the league and the fact that 28 points off the title pace last season, it's a marked improvement in a short space of time. Home form has been a huge positive for Los Nervionenses having only lost 2 of their 13 home league matches. They were also one of the in-form teams before the break having lost just 2 of their previous 11 matches in all competitions.
Real Betis face a tough first game back with this derby match against their Seville-based arch rivals. Head coach Rubi has led his team to a mid-table position of 12th after 27 league games. Los Verdiblancos are 8 points above the relegation zone but 12 points adrift of the current European qualification places. It seems another season of mediocrity awaits this group of players. However, to show progress, the team will be keen to at least match last season's 10th placed finish. Away form has been a problem for Real Betis with the club having only managed 1 victory in their 13 away league games this season.
The old saying goes, and it's oft repeated on these forums, that form goes out of the window in a derby game. Unfortunately, on this occasion, it seems backing anything other than a Sevilla win is utter madness. Sevilla have won both of their last two meetings with Real Betis and are superior in every department heading into this game. Unless something drastically changes I can see a business-like win for the home team.
Sevilla to Win @ 1.88 with VBet
BTTS @ 1.80 with William Hill