Gareth Bale kick-started Wales's World Cup qualifying campaign with two late goals to seal a precious win against Scotland in Cardiff. The Welsh expect to have Gareth Bale fit and available as they target a World Cup double over Scotland at Hampden Park on Friday night.
Despite being winless and bottom of Group A after four matches Scotland are odds on to beat Wales which seems way too short a price.
Wales may not be much better than their counterparts but they do sit a place above them in the group thanks to the 2-1 victory over Scotland back in October. Wales boast an outstanding record against the Scots having lost to them just once since 1984 with Wales winning to nil on their last two visits to Scotland.
The Spurs winger is in a stunning vein of form, and broke Scottish hearts with a late double which gave Wales a 2-1 win when the sides met in Cardiff in October.
The 23-year-old suffered an ankle knock in Tottenham’s 1-0 defeat against Fulham on Sunday, and has not yet trained this week after linking up with Chris Coleman’s squad. But there are no doubts over Bale’s availability for the clash, and striker Sam Vokes believes the Spurs star’s presence will be a big boost.
He said: “We think he is going to be fit, he is in and around the team and will be training in the next couple of days with Friday in mind.
“It is fantastic to play alongside him, the last couple of goals I have scored for Wales have come from his assists, and in the Scotland game here he turned the game on its head.
“He has been different class for club and country for a while now, every game he plays in he is excellent and he will be a big player for us on Friday.”
For the first time in Coleman’s reign, Wales head into a round of fixtures with some momentum behind them in Group A.
They have won two of their last three games, against Scotland and Austria, and are keen to continue their progress in Glasgow. The clash will also mark Gordon Strachan’s first competitive fixture in charge of Scotland.
Source: DSG
