Israel vs Scotland Betting Pick | UEFA Nations

UEFA Nations

2018-10-11 - Israel vs Scotland

A Sports Betting Pick by Auls

Israel v Scotland
Football: UEFA Nations League
Thursday 11th October 2018 - Kick Off 7:45pm
This game is live on TV

Israel

The new UEFA Nations League does offer a new avenue into the major international tournament of the European Championships and extends that avenue to those nations further down the pecking order. That means some teams may be looking to give themselves a better chance in the years ahead by being 'relegated' into the lower Leagues of the Nations League and I do think that will be a factor that will be addressed going forward.

Being in League C should have given Israel a pretty good chance to challenge for a berth in Euro 2020, but the 1-0 loss in Albania means they are trailing both them and Scotland in the Group. Falling into League D may not be the worst situation for Israel going forward, but they may also have no choice into dropping out of this League after struggling for form over the last few months.

Israel have only won 1 of their last 10 games overall and the worrying statistic is the fact they have lost 8 of those including both played in September. They have only won 1 of their last 8 home games so even a return to Haifa may not change the Israel fortunes especially as they have lost their last 4 home games.

Scotland

The top job in Scotland has proven to be a tough one for recent managers to enjoy as the long wait for a return to a major international tournament has extended past twenty years. There have been some false dawns for Scotland in recent years, but League C in the UEFA Nations League may give them their best chance to make it into the Euro 2020 draw.

Alex McLeish has taken over as Scotland manager for the second time in his career having failed to guide them to Euro 2008. A poor start under his watch has already put McLeish under pressure, but the 2-0 home win over Albania in the UEFA Nations League means Scotland are in a position to win their Group and give themselves at least a chance to fight it out for a Euro 2020 berth through this competition.

Scotland had won 1 of their previous 7 games and they had been beaten in 4 of their first 5 games under their new manager before the win over Albania last month. They have lost 2 of their last 6 away competitive games and both came at decent nations Slovakia and England, and in that time Scotland have beaten the likes of Gibraltar, Malta and Lithuania.

Head to Head

Israel and Scotland have met four times previously and it is Scotland who have won all four games including three played in Israel.

However the last of those games was played in January 1986.

Prediction

The UEFA Nations League is still a fledgling competition which means it can be difficult to know how seriously teams are taking it.

I would argue that those playing in the lower Leagues will arguably be more inclined to want to be successful in the competition with the potential opportunity to play for a berth in Euro 2020 on the line. That will give them a second chance if they can't upset the odds and secure a place in the next major international tournament from the Qualifiers that will begin in March 2019.

Both Israel and Scotland have been very close to making it through to the Finals of the World Cup or European Championships in recent years but found themselves coming up short. That makes the Nations League that much more important for them and Scotland's win over Albania should give them a real belief when they travel to Haifa.

Israel have been in some really poor form over the last eighteen months and even playing at home has not been a great help. They have lost their last 4 games at home and the likes of Albania and Macedonia have won here which makes me believe Scotland have every chance of doing that too.

The Scots are the underdogs, but they have been a tough out away from home in the last three/four years in competitive football. While not as strong as they once were, Scotland can earn a victory here to move in control of the Group and I will back them on the Asian Handicap with the draw returning the stake.

The Statistics :

ISRAEL LAST SIX HOME FORM
	DATE	RESULT		OPPOSITION
	2017-10-09	L	0-1	H v Spain
	2017-09-02	L	0-1	H v Macedonia
	2017-06-11	L	0-3	H v Albania
	2016-10-09	W	2-1	H v Liechtenstein
	2016-09-05	L	1-3	H v Italy
	2015-10-10	L	1-2	H v Cyprus

SCOTLAND LAST SIX AWAY FORM
	DATE	RESULT		OPPOSITION
	2017-10-08	D	2-2	A v Slovenia
	2017-09-01	W	0-3	A v Lithuania
	2016-11-11	L	3-0	A v England
	2016-10-11	L	3-0	A v Slovakia
	2016-09-04	W	1-5	A v Malta
	2015-10-11	W	0-6	A v Gibraltar