The favorite in group I, Czech Republic will meet at home for their second game the currently leader in the group Scotland. Surprisingly enough the Czechs lost their first game to Lithuania with 0:1 at home and will be looking for a bounce back in this one.
Scotland on the other hand had already played two games and won against Liechtenstein at home, and drew with Lithuania away, giving them the first spot with 4 points.
The Czech’s record against Scotland at home is W7 D0 L1, and that loss came long long ago in 1937. However the most recent meeting between these two teams was in a friendly game on March 3rd 2010 in Scotland where the host won with the minimal 1:0.
Whether their first game was an accident, or the Czech Republic is in a bad shape, I cannot say, but I do know that they are going for the win tomorrow in front of home crowd. In a way they have no choice either, because a second loss or even a tie will reduce their chances to qualify out of the group.
In their most recent friendlies against Latvia and USA, the Czechs showed good ability to control the ball, and a great precision which lead them to scoring 4 goals each game.
Prediction?
Czech Republic to win @ 1.71 (Switch to Betfair.com – 25£ loss cover on your first bet): Although their first loss in the qualification stage has put a lot of doubts in the home team, I think it was just an incident that will not happen again. I am expecting the Czechs to bounce back with a convincing victory on Friday, against an opponent that hasn’t beat them in more than 73 years at home.
