Scotland v Macedonia: Scots to profit from playing at home

Scotland have been converting Hampden Park into something of a fortress under Craig Levein. It is for this reason that their price to knock over Macedonia in their next World Cup qualifier is an attractive prospect.

8/11 says the hosts will continue their good run at home which has seen them go unbeaten in their last eight, aside from two single-goal defeats to the 2010 World Cup finalists, Spain and Holland.

The head-to-head record between these sides also points to a home win. The visitors have left the pitch in both previous meetings empty handed without scoring a goal. If this pattern continues, Scotland will reap the rewards and Ladbrokes have the Tartan Army priced up at 11/8 to win to nil.

Macedonia’s away record in recent times heaps a whole load more value on Levein’s under-fire side.

Drawing a blank at home with the Serbs last time out has added unwanted pressure onto this fixture, but the Macedonians are without a win in their last six away matches, failing to score in four of them, including their last three on the spin.

This poor run also includes an embarrassing defeat to Luxembourg last term. All this considered, the Scots should be brushing opposition of this calibre aside or they can forget about booking flights to Brazil in 2014.

Following their shut-out against Serbia, Blackburn’s £8m signing Jordan Rhodes can expect a more prominent role here, although it is unclear whether he will begin the game on the pitch or the bench.

Punters can get him at 9/2 to score the last goal of the game, as he has done for both of his club strikes this term, and the same price says he will be the man to break the deadlock in what is already a game of huge importance for the home side.

All odds and markets are correct as of publication