Spain v Scotland – Euro 2012 Qualifying

Scotland enter the final match of their Euro 2012 qualifying campaign, with their fate in their own hands – sort of. They face the Euro and World Champions on Spanish turf in a game that they will most probably have to win. It’s no consolation therefore that Spain have yet to lose to drop a point in 7 matches this campaign
Spain v Scotland
Beside the likely absences of Sergio Ramos and Xabi Alonso Vince del Bosque will have a full squad at his disposal and the experienced manager has shown his professionalism in these inconsequential matches going for the win. A 2-0 win in Prague this past weekend allowed Scotland to stay in the competition and you would expect to put up the same type of performance against Scotland to keep things fair. Fernando Torres was unable to impress his manager this past week and Del Bosque has not shied away from hinting that he might drop the once young phenom of the Spanish side.

A goal by Craig Mackail-Smith was the different in last Saturday’s win over Liechtenstein. That win put the Scots one point ahead of the Czech Republic who also happen to have the tie breaker between the two nations, so a win is imperative should Scotland advance. Of course there’s the scenario of Lithuania beating the Czech Republic – which they had already accomplished when playing in Prague, but with little motivation, it’s hard to lay all your eggs on that scenario to pan out.

For punters keen on placing a bet Spain v Scotland, odds have Scotland as 12/1 underdogs while the draw is priced at 13/2. Our Spain vs Scotland prediction however is for the Spaniards to complete their Euro 2012 qualification with a perfect record – you can bet on Spain to win at 1/6 odds on Bet365. Scotland did a fine job in the Scotland v Spain fixture a year back losing only 2-3, but playing Jose Rico Perez in Spain will be another matter entirely.