Scotland v Ukraine betting tips: Scots seek to keep dream alive
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World Cup play-off semi-final: Scotland v Ukraine betting tips
Emotions will be running high when Scotland welcome Ukraine to Glasgow for the long-awaited World Cup play-off semi-final.
The winner of this one, which was postponed back in March following the Russian invasion of Ukraine, will face Wales in Cardiff with a place at Qatar 2022 the grand prize.
It has the makings of a Hampden Park cracker as we pick out some Scotland v Ukraine betting tips.
Scotland v Ukraine form
A look at their most recent results tips the balance in favour of the hosts. Scotland finished their qualifying group with six wins on the spin, keeping five clean sheets and only conceding in an epic encounter with Israel at Hampden last October, when they edged a five-goal thriller thanks to Scott McTominay bundling the ball home in injury time.
Steve Clarke’s side rose to the occasion in the final qualifier against Denmark, beating the group winners 2-0 to make sure of a home tie in the play-off, where they are 23/20 for victory in 90 minutes, with Ukraine 9/4 and the draw 15/8.
Scotland are now eight games unbeaten heading into this one after drawing at home to Poland and away to Austria during the international break in March when this game was originally scheduled to be played.
Ukraine have their own eight-game unbeaten sequence to boast about, in qualifying Group D which included two draws with world champions France.
They secured a play-off place by beating Bosnia -Herzegovina away in November but that win in Zenica was one of only two group victories – the other was against Finland.
Due to the invasion, Oleksandr Petrakov’s side didn’t play again until beating German club side Borussia Monchengladbach in a warm-up at the start of May, after their home-based players were able to leave war-torn Ukraine for a camp in Slovenia.
This time last year they were warming up for the European Championship as Scotland and Ukraine experienced tournament football at the delayed Euro 2020.
Ukraine reached the last eight, stumbling more than sailing through as they lost to Holland and Austria, but one win against North Macedonia was enough to make the knockouts.
There they saw off Sweden in extra time and lost 4-0 to England. Scotland lasted just the three group games, losing two on their own patch, against the Czech Republic and Croatia, either side of a 0-0 draw with England at Wembley.
In the 10 games Scotland have played since the Auld Enemy clash they have only once failed to score and that was against Denmark in Copenhagen.
Against the Three Lions at the Euros was also the last time Ukraine drew a blank. Both teams to score at Hampden is evens and appeals for Scotland v Ukraine betting tips while a home win with both teams scoring is 21/5.
Scotland v Ukraine head to head
Scotland fans get misty-eyed remembering the qualifying campaign for Euro 2008, when they were thrown in against France and Italy. But they did the double over the French – Walter Smith’s side won 1-0 at Hampden before Alex McLeish took charge and James McFadden scored a wonder goal in Paris.
Ukraine were also in Group B, with Andriy Shevchenko banging them in. He claimed five of his 48 international goals in that campaign and two of them were against the Scots.
The AC Milan legend was on target with a late penalty in his country’s 2-0 win in Kyiv before he netted what turned out to be a consolation in Scotland’s 3-1 triumph in Glasgow – where Kenny Miller, McFadden and Lee McCulloch delighted the home support.
The Scots finished third in the table, seven points clear of Ukraine but behind the big boys.
A 3-1 win for the home side once again is 20/1 while Che Adams, who got better with every game towards the end of qualifying, is 9/2 for the first goal and 11/5 at any time.
Adams to score first in a home win is 13/2 while Scotland to be winning at half-time and full-time is 11/4.
Scotland v Ukraine team news
Rangers midfielder Ryan Jack has been ruled out with a calf injury, so Clarke has drafted in uncapped Allan Campbell as his replacement.
Right-back Nathan Patterson failed to prove his fitness in time and is out, along with Kieran Tierney who is missing with a knee injury that has kept him on the sidelines since March.
Ukraine do not have any injury concerns, so Manchester City’s Oleksandr Zinchenko is expected to play in central midfield, with Everton’s Vitaliy Mykolenko operating at left-back.
Roman Yaremchuk, Andriy Yarmolenko – who recently left West Ham – and Viktor Tsyhankov are expected to lead the line.
Goalscorer odds
Adams has scored twice in his last four matches and is the 9/2 favourite to break the deadlock or 11/5 just to score for Scotland.
Lyndon Dykes has scored in his last four international appearances for Scotland and is 5/1 to get the ball rolling or 12/5 to find the net.
🏴 Steve Clarke has named his Scotland squad for our upcoming FIFA World Cup Play-off and UEFA Nations League fixtures. pic.twitter.com/9DnIo8LPPo
— Scotland National Team (@ScotlandNT) May 23, 2022
John McGinn scored in the 2-2 draw with Austria in a friendly towards the end of March and netted the first equaliser in October’s 3-2 victory over Israel, so the Aston Villa midfielder looks a possibility at 13/2 and 14/5 in the two markets.
Yarmolenko and Yaremchuk are the 6/1 co-favourites from the Ukraine contingent to open the scoring or 14/5 to breach Scotland’s defence, the same odds as Artem Dovbyk.
Tsygankov is 10/1 and 9/2, while Zinchenko is 11/1 and 5/1 in our Scotland v Ukraine betting tips.
Match Info
Where: Hampden Park, Glasgow
When: 19:45, Wednesday 1st June
How to watch: Sky Sports
All odds and markets correct as of date of publication
