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Scotland v Finland
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Kick Off: Friday 7th June at 19:45
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Competition: International Friendly
Scotland’s final pre-Euro 2024 warm-up match sees them face off with Finland at Hampden Park on Friday night.
The Scots put in a laboured performance when winning 2-0 against Gibraltar in a friendly match at the Estadio Algarve in Portugal on Monday evening.
Steve Clarke’s side kick-off the 17th edition of the European Championships against host nation Germany at the Allianz Arena on 14 June.
As for Finland, they will not be present at this summer’s showpiece, after coming up short against Wales in the semi-finals of the play-offs for Euro 2024.
Andy’s Bet Club has you covered for this week’s footballing action, with our keen eye on the best opportunities for free bets, Euros 2024 betting tips, bet builder stats, and plenty more expert football betting tips across Europe’s best fixtures, including our brand-new both teams to score tips.
We have also tracked all the best bet builder bookmakers and odds boosts, to ensure our readers get the best bang for their buck.
Scotland v Finland Best Bets
Finland showed against Portugal in midweek that they possess the firepower to trouble Scotland and they will be hoping to catch their injury-ravaged hosts cold at Hampden on Friday night. However, the Eagle-Owls have found clean sheets particularly hard to come by of late, having failed to silence their opponents in seven of their last eight matches.
Both teams to score therefore hold plenty of appeal at 2.1 with Paddy Power. This bet would have paid out in five of Finland’s last six matches.
Team news permitting, Finland forward Teemu Pukki stands out in the anytime goalscorer market at 4.0 with Paddy Power. The former Norwich striker, who came off the bench to bag a brace against Portugal on Tuesday night, is Finland’s record goalscorer.
Having netted four times across his last five appearances for his country, Pukki looks overpriced to hit the back of the net at Hampden on Friday night.
📂 Scotland v Finland Cheat Sheet
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⚔️ Scotland v Finland Head-to-Head
Scotland and Finland haven’t crossed paths on the international stage since their last friendly fixture, which was all the way back in April of 1998.
Similarly to their latest encounter, that last meeting was a World Cup warm-up match for Scotland, with the two sides playing out a 1-1 draw at Easter Road in Edinburgh.
Overall, the two nations have come up against each other eight times, with Scotland posting six wins and two draws across that eight-game sample.
Finland have already tasted defeat on British soil this year, having crashed to a 4-1 defeat against Wales in their play-off semi-final at the Cardiff City Stadium in March.
📊 Scotland Form and Stats
While Scotland reached Euro 2024 with relative ease, their form since doing so doesn’t make for great reading.
Steve Clarke’s side were in the midst of a seven-game winless run before earning a far from convincing 2-0 win against Gibraltar on Monday evening.
The defensive solidity that served the Scots so well during the early stages of qualifying seems to have deserted them of late, with Clarke’s crew failing to keep their sheets clean in seven of their last eight matches.
It’s also worth noting that Scotland have shipped two goals or more in a sizable six of their previous eight assignments, further highlighting just how shaky their backline has been in recent times.
At the other end of the park, Scotland are also lacking cutting edge up top, as seen by their return of two goals in three games this calendar year, both of which were against international minnows Gibraltar, not to mention they failed to score against Northern Ireland.
Despite racking up 25 shots against Gibraltar last time out, Scotland could only muster five on-target efforts, whilst posting an xG total of 2.54 against the side ranked 203rd in the world.
📊 Finland Form and Stats
Despite failing to qualify for Euro 2024, Finland’s recent performances have given their nation plenty of cause for optimism moving forward.
Markku Kanerva’s men finished just four points behind Denmark and Slovenia in qualifying, with the Eagle-Owls earning an eye-catching six wins from their 10 Group H assignments.
While Finland then went on to suffer a disappointing 4-1 defeat against Wales in their Euro 2024 play-off semi-final, a 2-1 friendly success against Estonia five days later ensured that any post play-off hangover would be pretty short lived.
The Finns also put in a spirited effort in a 4-2 defeat away at star-studded Portugal on Tuesday night, with Teemu Pukki grabbing both goals for his country.
Finland were amongst the highest-scoring sides during the qualifying stages for Euro 2024, netting 19 times in 11 matches, a tally bettered by just eight of the overall 53 nations involved at the preliminary stages.
The Nordic nation are a close-knit unit who work extremely hard off the ball, as evidenced by their 417 ball recoveries during Euro 2024 qualifying, a total topped by only two other teams.
* I recommend waiting for confirmed team line-ups before placing any bets.
* All odds displayed correct at the time of publishing.
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