Wales v Scotland Tip

There’s a massive British derby taking place in Cardiff on Friday night and I just have a hunch that this will be the night when Wales finally win - a best price 2/1 shot with BetVictor.

Everybody knows what a terrible time it’s been for the Red Dragon ever since Gary Speed’s tragic death. Chris Coleman inherited a really difficult situation and results have so far been poor. However, there is a decent team in there somewhere as results in 2011 proved.

Last year Wales were the most improved team in the world according to FIFA’s point-scoring system as they won four of their final five matches under Speed. They climbed into the top 50 for the first time since 2003. In international football, a year is only a handful of matches so the potential of the side is very genuine. 

Now, even with some injuries, Coleman can still call upon a host of Premier League regulars to rediscover that level. Gareth Bale should be fit, and will be the best player on the pitch, but Joe Allen and Aaron Ramsey are two further players gaining plenty of big match experience at big clubs these days. The recall of Craig Davies may even prove telling after his excellent start to the Championship season.

And then there’s Scotland. The bookies have made them slight favourites here but the Tartan Army aren’t doing too well themselves lately. The Hampden Park faithful grew increasingly restless after mediocre home draws with Serbia and Macedonia severely dented their own qualification hopes.

Welsh goalkeeper Jason Brown makes the case that “the only manager under pressure is Craig Levein.” That’s debatable, but a record of one win in Wales in 50 years will add to the visitors’ trepidation.

The FIFA rankings show Scotland at 56 and Wales at 57. In other words, there’s next to nothing between the sides and in such cases home advantage is often decisive. I’m backing that to be the case on Friday, at decent odds, on what could be a pivotal night for Chris Coleman.