Scotland to see off Auld Enemy

[sake]

Ben Coley looks at Tuesday's international friendlies and thinks Scotland are worth a small bet to beat England.

Recommendations:

1pt Scotland to beat England at 11/4

For many, international friendlies come and go without significance.

Club managers hope their prized possessions emerge unscathed and there are a fair few players who approach them with the same attitude, while national coaches make all the right noises without ever really convincing.

The noise coming from the stands goes up an octave or two and, for most, there's little sleep lost over the outcome regardless of opponent.

There's always one, of course, and that one, not for the first time, is Stanley Victor Collymore. The former England striker says he hasn't been as excited about any football match for 10 years as he is over this international friendly almost two years in advance of Euro 2016. Genuinely.

But, Stan's ludicrous attempt to make swans of geese aside, there's little doubt that Scotland's clash with England at Parkhead adds a little spice to midweek proceedings as we pass the time before domestic football returns at the weekend.

One learned colleague told me recently that Scotland would beat England were they to meet and those who agree can get something in the region of 11/4 about Gordon Strachan's side, a price worthy of a second glance at the very least.
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Strachan - a national footballing icon whether you're using my thesaurus or Collymore's - has really got a tune out of his side of late, with seven points from nine since a battling 2-1 defeat to Germany in their opening game of the latest qualification campaign.

Nobody could argue that his options are quite so strong as Roy Hodgson's, but Strachan has established a cohesive unit who know what their job is and have become very hard to beat, more so than the group who lost 3-2 at Wembley little over a year ago.

That day, England were at near full-strength even with Tom Cleverley in the side and while Scotland scored with their only two shots on target, their performance hinted at what was to come.

Of course, Hodgson's side are in even better shape with qualification to France 2016 just about locked up already thanks to four wins from four games including an important victory in Switzerland.

It might be overplaying it to suggest that they've suddenly developed a winning mentality but that's the party line and there can be no questioning the way they responded from going a goal down against Slovenia on Saturday.

So, the narrative is set: For Scotland, this is a chance to confirm that they're a vastly improved side; for England, a chance to maintain the momentum they've established since that disastrous World Cup effort in the summer.

Unfortunately, it may not be as simple as balancing the strides made by the Scots with the ability England have to win games at a good ratio when kept to this level. Were it, I'd have to lean towards the visitors at odds-against.

Instead, things are complicated somewhat by the likelihood that both managers 'experiment'. Hodgson will have to choose between Foster and Forster in goal and appears likely to hand a debut of some description to Saido Berahino, while Strachan has hinted that Rangers midfielder Lewis Macleod may secure his first international cap.

For both, the concern would be that these changes hit their stride pattern and I've a feeling this might be a disjointed affair, with passion and pride taking over. That will help Scotland, whose success of late appears to have been built on a collective effort more so than that of England, who can still rely on some close-to-top-class talent to make the difference as was the case on Saturday night.

If, as expected, the likes of Stewart Downing and Rickie Lambert are brought in for Danny Welbeck and Raheem Sterling and Jack Wilshere is given some time off after another good England shift, the visitors could just struggle here. That Hodgson is playing down the rivalry might be reasonable but equally may not help inspire the type of performance which will be needed against a Scotland side who still see England as a scalp worth taking.

So while friendlies might be insignificant, the significant factor here could be that this game is a friendly and it's with that in mind that the advice for those wanting to bet is to chance Scotland at a very fair price.

The coupon is a long one but it's hard to find anything else of real note. Perhaps the USA will inflict another defeat on the Republic of Ireland after they were outplayed by Scotland on Friday and perhaps Spain will get one over their World Cup successors, Germany, but there seems little point in paying to find out.

Of the so-called bankers, Italy appear a fair price at 1/2 to see off Albania even if this isn't a side of great quality, and a double with France should pay off. Les Bleus face Sweden who, crucially, will be without Zlatan Ibrahimovic.