Scotland v Croatia Tip

Scotland can be picked up as long as 13/5 (Bet365) to beat Croatia on Tuesday - a feat they achieved against all the odds in Zagreb in June.

That may have looked like a fluke result at the time but the victory has proved to be something of a springboard for Gordon Strachan’s men since then. The Tartan Army led 1-0 and 2-1 at Wembley before succumbing 3-2 to the Auld Enemy in August. After that there was an understandable loss to the mighty Belgians before a 2-1 success away to Macedonia last time out.

Now the Scottish faithful want to see this mini revival extend to Hampden Park and the fixture arguably matters more to the hosts. A home win is potentially important in regard to seeding for future qualification campaigns, not to mention the positive impact it would have on morale.

Contrast that to Croatia who are now guaranteed to finish second in Group A no matter what. Coach Igor Stimac was quoted as saying that this match would serve as a kind of “training session” ahead of the play-offs they will now contest.

The sense that the result will be less important to the visitors is only added to by the fact that Stimac has nine players one yellow card away from suspension as they head to Glasgow. Big names such as Modric, Mandzukic and Corluka are all in danger and it remains to be seen how this will affect team selection and attitude.

When the scenario is all put together, the likelihood of a home win looks far more likely than the generous odds suggest.