Spain's Sergio Ramos will have nothing to fear from Scotland on Tuesday
Don't expect any miracles from a very average Scotland side when they take on world champions Spain in Alicante on Tuesday night.
Scotland's destiny in their own hands. Craig Levein's side need only to record a victory over the reigning European and world champions Spain in Alicante on Tuesday evening and they will finish second in Group I and make it into the hat for the Euro 2012 playoffs. Simple enough, no?
Some hardy Scots will venture to the Estadio Jose Rico Perez on Tuesday, full of hope that they can confound odds of 16/1, at
Boylesports, and beat the hosts. There is, however, nothing to suggest that will be the case.
Scotland have managed to claim just 11 points from their seven matches in Group I. Belgium (another side unlikely to make it to Euro 2012) are the only second placed side with less. Away from home they have scored just one goal in three games, against Liechtenstein, Lithuania and Czech Republic.
That trio are hardly world beaters and if Scotland can't find the net against them then they have no chance against Spain. Sergio Ramos, Carlos Puyol and Gerard Pique will hardly be nervous about facing Craig Makail-Smith and Steven Naismith.
The former scored his first international goal in Friday's 1-0 win over Liechtenstein that was hardly impressive. There were moments when Levein's side should have scored but overall it was a turgid performance, much like the victory over Lithuania last month, by a team that lack creativity, play without any pace or movement, and frequently look scared.
The Hampden support has frequently helped Scotland to play above themselves against some of the world's top sides but in Alicante they are likely to come up against a passionate home crowd, eager to celebrate their team's 100% qualifying record. For the Spanish, Tuesday's match is an exhibition.
It is also an opportunity for Vicente Del Bosque to assess his squad ahead of the defence of the European Championship title next summer. Chelsea's Juan Mata did that when scoring after 7 minutes against Czech Republic in Prague and Santi Cazorla and Thiago Alicantara will be keen to do something similar against Scotland. Fernando Torres, who is 15/4 at
Unibet to open the scoring, will also be keen to impress the manager. Competition for places in the best team in the world is high and even a £50 million striker isn't guaranteed a starting spot.
It will, therefore, be a highly motivated Spanish side that Scotland meet on Tuesday and that spells bad news. Gary Caldwell and Christophe Berra are nowhere near good enough to deal with the threat of Torres, Cazorla and David Villa. It would be no surprise if one of the visiting centre backs either gives away a penalty or is sent off, simply down to not being able cope with the pace and movement of the world champions' attack.
It is 1/5, at
Ladbrokes, that Spain beat Scotland and that is a bet that will form the cornerstone of many midweek accumulators. Singles bettors are, however, advised to back the home side to lead at half-time and full-time, at 4/7 with
Paddy Power. This bet would have won in six of Spain's seven Euro 2012 qualifiers, including the 3-2 win at Hampden last year, which makes the price look like great value.
It is also worth backing a Spanish win to nil, at 10/11 with
Ladbrokes, as Scotland's attack looks incapable of scoring in Alicante, particularly with Kenny Miller, who was influential against Czech Republic recently, missing through injury. Correct scores of 2-0 and 3-0, at 11/2 and 6/1 with
BetFred look the most sensible bets in that market.
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