Scotland will be looking to maintain their 100% record in Group A when they travel to Spain in Euro 2024 qualifying on Thursday.
With five matches in the books, Scotland find themselves atop Group A – six points clear of second-placed Spain and eight points inside the top two.
😜 Y si entrenamos con nuestra afición... ¡¡𝗣𝗨𝗘𝗦 𝗠𝗨𝗖𝗛𝗢 𝗠𝗘𝗝𝗢𝗥!!🤗 GRACIAS, como siempre, por venir a darnos tanto cariño.ℹ️ https://t.co/mtZvMO8FVP #VamosEspaña | #EURO2024 pic.twitter.com/0EjpOflU2L— Selección Española Masculina de Fútbol (@SEFutbol) October 9, 2023
😜 Y si entrenamos con nuestra afición... ¡¡𝗣𝗨𝗘𝗦 𝗠𝗨𝗖𝗛𝗢 𝗠𝗘𝗝𝗢𝗥!!🤗 GRACIAS, como siempre, por venir a darnos tanto cariño.ℹ️ https://t.co/mtZvMO8FVP #VamosEspaña | #EURO2024 pic.twitter.com/0EjpOflU2L
The Scots claimed a shock 2-0 victory over La Roja back in March, courtesy of a brace from Scott McTominay. Naturally, Spain will be eager to make amends on home soil.
Spain secured a couple of big wins during last month’s international break, thrashing Georgia 7-1 before crushing Cyprus 6-0.
Alvaro Morata netted a hat-trick against Georgia, while Ferran Torres bagged a brace against Cyprus, underlining the team’s attacking firepower.
La Roja have won three of their four Euro 2024 qualifiers, scoring 16 goals (four goals per game) while conceding on just three occasions.
It is also worth remembering that Spain secured the Nations League title back in June, beating Italy in the semi-finals before defeating Croatia on penalties in the final.
As for Scotland, they have claimed five successive Euro 2024 qualifying victories, scoring 12 goals (2.4 goals per game) while conceding just once.
Steve Clarke’s men have already notched a couple of wins against Cyprus, in addition to victories over Spain, Norway and Georgia.
Not only have Scotland won each of their last five European Championship qualifiers, but they have also avoided defeat in each of their previous 10.
That said, the Scots suffered a 3-1 defeat to England in a friendly last month, highlighting the gulf in quality between them and their neighbours.
Head-to-head: Scotland won the reverse fixture 2-0 at Hampden Park back in March, despite seeing just 25% possession on home soil.
When you look at the bigger picture, however, Spain have lost only one of their previous six meetings with Scotland across all competitions.
Team news: Spain could hand international debuts to the uncapped duo of Fran Garcia and Oihan Sancet on Thursday, while Morata will aim to enhance his tally of 33 goals in 66 games.
Ryan Jack has withdrawn from Scotland’s squad due to injury, with Aston Villa’s John McGinn and Brighton’s Billy Gilmour expect to start in midfield.
Although Steve Clarke’s side have dominated Group A up to now, there is no denying that Spain possess a far stronger squad than Scotland.
With that in mind, Forebet predicts that Spain will get the better of Scotland this time around, scoring over 2.5 goals while keeping a clean sheet.