Saturday 17th November 1945hrs Albania v Scotland Football – International – UEFA Nations League It is looking extremely ominous for these two nations and their efforts to not only win this section, but to even stay as a League C country. Israel have powered to the top of Group 1 despite losing their first game of the section meaning that this game is hugely important in the context of this group. The hosts have to win and hope for the best whilst their opponents on Saturday are of the mindset that they will in all likelihood need four points from their remaining two games. A lot hinges on this one so continue reading for a match preview of Albania versus Scotland with a best bet selected.
Albania got off to the perfect start in their Nations League group by defeating Israel 1-0 at home back in September. It’s all gone rather horribly wrong since then, however, losing 2-0 in Glasgow against Scotland and then by the same score line in their second encounter with the Israelis. Those losses have consigned them to the bottom of the table by virtue of goal difference and they know that if they are to finish top then they need a win by an improbable margin so there more realistic hope is to get any sort of win that would see them move above the Scots and they would then hope that Israel can do them a favour next week. It’s been a really disappointing run of games in general for the Albanians, however, managing only four wins in their last 18 games. It will be frustrating considering they achieved their best ever performance when reaching Euro 2016 and they have not been able to sustain that level. A win on Saturday would at least end this campaign on a positive
To say it’s been a baptism of fire for Alex McLeish in his second spell in charge of Scotland would be a huge understatement. Less than a year in the job and he already fines himself under huge pressure with a series of underwhelming results and performances under his stewardship in 2018. His only two wins have come away to Hungary in a friendly game and the 2-0 win over their weekend opponents at Hampden in September. McLeish would have been hoping that would be a springboard for his squad but if anything, their worst performance came next time out against Israel. Add that to a couple of heavy friendly defeats at home to Belgium and Portugal and there’s now a sense that should Scotland fail to finish top of this section then they could well be looking for a new manager. It’s not just what’s happening on the park that seems to be suggesting all is not well in the Scotland camp, there has been consistent issues flagged up during all three international breaks this season and this one perhaps the most concerning as nine of the players called up have withdrawn or retired. It’s extraordinary circumstances and McLeish has to somehow galvanise the players he does have at his disposal and get two results back to back within the next week.
Albania v Scotland Betting Tip
You would struggle to find another game this weekend involving two teams who are in as poor form as what Albania and Scotland are at the moment. A win would be huge for either manager but equally, a loss would be a devastating blow and could well signal the end for one of them. Israel will be looking on with great interest ahead of their game with Scotland on Tuesday which will be the final match of this section.
Albania have probably given up any hope that they can finish first in this section as they need a really unlikely set of results but they do need to win to maintain their status in League Three. Scotland have been beset by issues in the build up to this one and with key players like John McGinn and Kieran Tierney withdrawing late on, it doesn’t leave a lot of time for McLeish to rethink his plans. Even in spite of the missing players, the Scottish performance in Israel was as bad as it’s been for a long time and they do not inspire confidence going into this one. Albania are not a team I would be relying on to carry my money however so rather than pick an outcome in terms of a result, I think a bet on the unders is again the way to go despite the skinnier odds – no game in this section has had more than two goals in it yet.
Selection: Under 2.5 goals 1/2 @ Betway
