Euro 2016 Qualifiers: Scotland vs Georgia preview

October 10, 2014
By: Nemanja Lazarevic

Scotland vs GeorgiaScotland go into their second qualifying match on the back of a very good performance against World Cup holders Germany, and no doubt they are in a good position to defeat Georgia.

The visitors were somewhat unfortunate to lose to Ireland in their opening fixture and will attempt to make amends at Ibrox.

Scotland have been showing incredible progress under Gordon Strachan and the former Celtic boss certainly looks like the right man to lead the team to a major tournament.

Having shown a great deal of potential near the end of the 2014 World Cup qualifiers as well as in friendly matches, the Scots quickly proved they stand a very good chance of reaching the Euro 2016 finals.

Gordon Strachan’s charges matched European powerhouse Germany for large periods of the match in Dortmund, and they can take a lot of heart from that performance even if they ended up suffering a narrow defeat.

The Scots are now expected to build on that display and put the first three points on the board, with home win paying 1.73 (8/11) at Betfred.

Captain Scott Brown returns after missing the Germany clash, while Andy Robertson is back to the side after recovering from injury.

Matt Gilks was called to replace Allan McGregor, but Charlie Mulgrew has been overlooked as he steps up his recovery from a knee problem.

Probable starting line-up (4-4-1-1): Marshall – Hutton, Martin, Hanley, Robertson – Morrison, Brown, McArthur, Anya – Naismith – S. Fletcher.

Just like their next opposition, Georgia have been showing signs of promise under the current manager, but it appears they are still far away from qualifying for a major tournament.

The Crusaders ended a ten-match winless run as they defeated Liechtenstein and Saudi Arabia in first two warm-up games of the year before suffering a 1-0 loss to UAE.

Georgia in turn produced a decent performance at the start of the new qualifying campaign, match Ireland for large periods of the match, but they had to settle for a 2-1 defeat after Aiden McGeady’s moment of brilliance decided the winner.

Temuri Ketsbaia’s charges now face a tough task against in-form Scots, and they can be backed at 2.00 (1/1) not to score at Ibrox.

The visitors face major selection problems given that Guram Kashia and Levan Mchedlidze are out injured, so they can be expected to adopt a defence-minded approach in Glasgow.

Probable starting line-up (4-3-2-1): Loria – Lobzhanidze, Kverkvelia, Khubutia, Kvirkvelia – Daushvili, Kobakhidze, Kankava – Okriashvili, Ananidze – Gelashvili.

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