Euro 2020: Scotland vs. Czech match preview- team news, lineups

Scotland hope to make the perfect start to their Group D campaign when they open their European Championship with a clash against the Czech Republic at Hampden Park.

England and Croatia are the favorites to claim the top two positions in this section, but third spot could yet be enough to advance to the round of 16, and Steve Clarke's side is eyeing a huge three points here.

Scotland dramatically qualified for Euro 2020 courtesy of back-to-back penalty-shootout victories over Israel and Serbia in the semi-finals and final of the playoffs.

Czech Republic reached EURO 2020 having finished second behind Group D rivals England in their qualifying group, although they recorded a 2-1 win over the Three Lions in the process, indicating that the team should not be underestimated.

Jaroslav Silhavy’s squad hope to gain some revenge against Scotland after coming up second in both of their UEFA Nations League meetings.

Scotland vs. Czech Republic match preview

For the first time since EURO 96, Scotland will compete at a major international tournament after qualifying for EURO 2020 courtesy of a penalty shootout against Serbia in their qualification play-off final.

On the other hand, the Czechs have qualified for every European Championship since its remarkable performance in Euro 1996.

Scotland

are certainly outsiders when it comes to claiming a top-two spot in this group, but a win against the Czechs would place them in an excellent position in the section ahead of the important match with England at Wembley Stadium on June 18.

Today's clash at Hampden Park will mark Scotland's first match at a major international tournament since the 1998 World Cup, while they are competing in the finals of the European Championship for the first time since Euro 1996, when they also famously took on England in the group stage.

The Scots will be feeling good about their preparations for this summer's tournament, having picked up a respectable 2-2 draw with the Netherlands in a friendly on June 2 before recording a 1-0 win over

on June 6 thanks to a first-half effort from Che Adams.

Scotland have failed to progress past the group stage in their two previous participations in the European Championship, but Clarke has put together a squad capable of challenging for a spot in the round of 16.

Czech Republic

certainly have their eyes on a position in the knockout round of the competition and view Today's clash with Scotland as key to their chances of progression.

Jaroslav Silhavy's side suffered a 4-0 defeat to

in their first pre-tournament friendly on June 4 but managed to return to winning ways on June 8 courtesy of a 3-1 success over Albania.

It is difficult to know exactly what to expect from the Czechs as they are occasionally inconsistent, but a draw with

in a 2022 World Cup qualifier back in March was an indication of their credentials.

Czech Republic famously finished as runners-up to Germany at Euro 1996, while they made the semi-finals of this competition in 2004 before also claiming a quarter-final spot at Euro 2012, making them a side more than capable of negotiating their way into the latter stages of the tournament.

Silhavy's team consider Scotland as their weakest opponents in this group, and the fact that they finish the section with successive matches against Croatia and

means that the 1996 finalists cannot afford a slip up at Hampden Park.

Form analysis

The Scotland squad for this match is relatively straightforward, but it is not still clear whether Clarke will go with a front two, while the head coach must make a decision on the right-sided center-back role in what could be a 3-5-2 formation.

Adams and

operated as the front two against Luxembourg last time out and that is again expected to be the case for this match, while Kieran Tierney, Andrew Robertson,

and John McGinn are certainties to be named in the first XI.

Jack Hendry could ultimately be given the nod at the back alongside Grant Hanley and Tierney, while Stephen O'Donnell is being tipped to feature as the right-sided wing-back against the Czechs.

's Billy Gilmour is an option in the middle of the park, but Callum McGregor should join Premier League duo McTominay and McGinn in the engine room.

Scotland possible starting lineup: Marshall; Hendry, Hanley, Tierney; O'Donnell, McTominay, McGregor, McGinn, Robertson; Dykes, Adams

West Ham United duo Vladimir Coufal and Tomas Soucek are certainties to feature in their starting XI, while

's Tomas Kalas will operate in the middle of the defense.

has been ruled out of the competition due to a knee injury, meaning that there is a spot in midfield to fill, with Alex Kral expected to line up alongside Soucek.

Vladimir Darida, the captain and most experienced player in the squad, will be in the starting line-up, while Bayer Leverkusen's Patrik Schick, who has struck 11 times at international level, is expected to get the nod over Burnley's Matej Vydra to feature in the center-forward spot.

Czech Republic possible starting lineup: Vaclik; Coufal, Celustka, Kalas, Boril; Soucek, Kral; Masopust, Darida, Jankto; Schick

Scotland vs. Czech Republic - Head-to-head in all competitions

The Scotland Euro 2020 Squad has won four out of their last nine games. The Czech Republic Euro 2020 Squad has also won an equal number of games against the Scotts.

This will be the first Euro 2020 Group D game for both Euro teams and it will be held at Hampden Park, one of the twelve Euro 2020 stadiums.

The last Scotland vs Czech Republic match ended 1-0 in October 2020.

Prediction

While many websites offer different predictions and betting tips, we state here that there is simply no downplaying the importance of this match to both teams, but we are finding it incredibly difficult to separate them.

Both are capable of causing problems in the final third of the field, but we have had to settle on a low-scoring draw.

Scotland vs. Czech Republic Referees

Daniel Siebert (GER) will be assisted by Jan Seidel (GER) and Rafael Foltyn (GER) and Fourth official Georgi Kabakov (BUL) and Video Assistant Referee Marco Fritz (GER).

Viewing information

• Date: Monday, June 14, 2021

• Kick off Time: 9:00 AM (ET)

• Location: Hampden Park, Glasgow

• Free live streams: BBC iPlayer

• Global live streams: ESPN via Sling TV or FuboTV (US) | Optus Sport (AUS) | TSN/TVA Sports (CAN)

• Odds: Scotland +185; Draw +195; Czech Republic -175

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