Belgium v Scotland: More misery on the menu for Levein

De Bruyne can help heap more misery on Levein and Scotland.

Is this Craig Levein's swansong as Scotland manager? Jaymes Monte thinks so as can't see past a home win on Tuesday night...

He waits. That what he does. Tick followed tock followed tick followed tock....

Wait is all that Craig Levein can reasonably do. Defeat to Wales on Friday has almost certainly sealed the fate of the current Scotland manager and now the inevitable lies in wait; a stay of execution protracted only due to the proximity of this Tuesday's game against high-flying Belgium.

To be fair to Levein, his side were extremely hard done by on Friday; a contentious penalty decision was immediately preceded by a ludicrous call from the German linesman that resulted in a legitimate goal being disallowed.

The introduction of Steven Fletcher and Kris Commons has given the Scots a much more attacking outlook and they were all the better for it. But the damage was done in the opening two draws with Serbia and Macedonia at Hampden. Levein has described this as a must win game for Scotland and their aspirations of qualifying for Brazil 2014. It's already well beyond that.

Team News
Jordan Rhodes and Robert Snodgrass had already withdrawn from the Scotland squad prior to the Wales game, now Scott Brown, who was forced to return to Celtic after aggravating a hip problem, joins them on the sidelines. Cardiff midfielder Don Cowie has been called up as cover, looking to add to his 10 international caps to date.

Maroaune Fellaini withdrew from the Belgium squad prior to their game against Serbia on Friday, and is expected to be out of action for three weeks. Romelu Lukaku also misses the game but Axel Witsel and Vincent Kompany are expected to be available having played on Friday despite fitness concerns.

Match Odds
At 1.374/11 for the home win, it's difficult to get too excited about backing Belgium to take all three points. Scotland are an 11.5n/a chance to pull off what would be a major shock, while the draw, which wouldn't be favourable to either side, is a 5.39/2 shot.

Despite an impressive start to the campaign Belgium's position at the top of the table is nothing better than precarious. Locked alongside Croatia with seven points from three games, and with the Croats hosting Wales this Tuesday, any slip up would be magnified. For very different reasons to those proclaimed by Levein, this is a must-win game for the Belgians.

This looks to be a more focussed and united Belgium side than in years gone by, and I strongly fancy that they'll get the job done. But at odds of 1.374/11 it's a 'no bet' market for me.

Over/Under 2.5 goals
It may be too late to save his job, but with Steven Fletcher and Kris Commons in the side Levein has at least shown that he is capable of setting out a side to take a game to the opposition.

And, in Witsel, Kevin De Bruyne, Moussa Dembele, Christian Benteke, Eden Hazard and Kevin Mirallas Belgium certainly have the arsenal to score goals. In fact, I would go as far as saying that, on paper, and current form, this should be one of the most feared attacking units in international football at present.

Marc Wilmots's side have scored 10 goals in their last four matches, but have also only kept two clean sheets in their last seven games. Goals look to be on the agenda, so back Over 2.5 goals at a shade of odds-on at 1.9620/21.

Half With Most Goals
Another market relating to goals where there is some value is the Half With Most Goals market. The second half is priced 2.0421/20 and it makes sense to get involved given the slightly tentative starts both teams have made in recent fixtures.

Belgium haven't scored more than one first-half goal in their last five matches, while you have to go back August 2011 - 12 games - for the last time that Scotland scored more than once in the opening 45 minutes. Perhaps even the 0-0 half-time score is worth a nibble at odds of 3.211/5.

Recommended Bets:
Back Over 2.5 goals @ 1.9620/21
Back 2nd Half @ 2.0421/20 in Half With Most Goals