Scotland travel to Moldova knowing that a win will secure second spot in the group, Jake Pearson has previewed the match and picked out his best bet.
Denmark have already cemented their place at the top of Group F, and deservedly so, winning each of their eight qualification matches so far, all without conceding a goal.
Of the five remaining teams in the group, none of Austria, Faroe Islands or Moldova can finish in the top two, but it is all very much to play for as far as Scotland and Israel are concerned.
Scotland take on Moldova here and they only need to match Israel’s result against Austria to seal second spot in the group, a fine achievement indeed for Steve Clarke’s men.
In truth, Clarke’s side do not have too difficult a task facing them either, Moldova currently propping up the group with just one point, and that came in their first game of the campaign.
Kick-off time: 17:00 GMT, Friday
TV channel: Sky Sports Main Event
The Moldovans have conceded 24 goals across their eight matches, scoring just four, and Scotland really should be sealing their place as runners-up on Friday evening.
Steve Clarke will be desperate to get the job done in Moldova, meaning the Scots will not be chasing any points in their final qualification match, and that could lead to the away side showing plenty of attacking intent.
Moldova haven’t been complete pushovers this campaign, only beaten by more than two goals in half of their matches, but Scotland were perhaps unfortunate not to have won by a wider margin when these two last met, peppering the Moldovan goal with 16 attempts, with the goalkeeper pulling off six saves.
This meeting may not be so frustrating for the Scots, who will no doubt be in buoyant spirits considering the situation, and though Clarke’s men aren’t known for their ability to wipe the floor with teams, this could be the exception to that rule.
Given Over 2.5 Goals in the match is priced up at 4/5, the appealing bet in this fixture is in siding with Scotland to claim each of those goals, which bumps the price up to 11/8.
Scotland have scored more than two goals twice during this campaign, while Moldova have conceded three or more on three occasions.
Given also that games involving Moldova have seen a total of 28 goals, yet Moldova have been responsible for scoring just four of those, just 14%, it is likely that Moldova will fail to score, and in fact they are as short as 4/7 to do so.
This means the 11/8 about SCOTLAND TO SCORE OVER 2.5 GOALS is certainly worth getting on side.
Moldova v Scotland best bets and score prediction
- 1pt Scotland to score Over 2.5 Goals at 11/8 (Betfair Sportsbook)
Score prediction: Moldova 0-3 Scotland (Sky Bet odds: 11/2)
Odds correct at 1400 BST (09/11/21)
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