Vauxhall International Challenge Match
Scotland v Northern Ireland
Wednesday, March 25th 2014, 7:45pm kick-off
Hampden Park, Glasgow

Scotland will play their first game at Hampden for over a year in the Vauxhall International Challenge match against Northern Ireland tomorrow night.

Michael O’Neill’s team are sitting second in their UEFA Euro 2016 qualifying group after recording famous wins over Greece and Hungary and will play Finland in Belfast on Sunday 29 March.

Sports Journalist Stephen Looney of the Sunday World has given us the lowdown on what Scotland can expect from the Northern Irish on Wednesday night:

Who is Northern Ireland’s biggest threat?
Undoubtedly Kyle Lafferty. In the last campaign Kyle was out of sorts and didn’t feature much for different reasons but he has been on fire in this campaign to date with three goals so far. Can create and finish when on song.

How is the team likely to set-up tactically v Scotland?
Michael O’Neill liked a 4-2-3-1 system in the last campaign but has settled on a 4-5-1 or a 4-3-3 formation to great success in recent games. More likely to tinker with personnel than his system with the Finland game in mind.

How does Aberdeen’s Niall McGinn fit into the squad?
When fit and available, Jamie Ward is most likely to partner Kyle Lafferty upfront so Niall has made a vital contribution on the flanks or coming off the bench as an impact player. Combined well with Lafferty in the opening Euro 2016 game against Hungary and got a well deserved goal.

What have you made of Northern Ireland’s Euro campaign so far?
Northern Ireland’s results and progress have been nothing short of astonishing in the current campaign, bearing in mind the last, failed campaign and the manager deserves immense credit. Three straight wins earned in style had the fans purring before reality kicked in with the defeat to Romania in Bucharest in November.

Score prediction
2-2, Lafferty to grab a late equaliser.