Matthew Lindsay's Five Minute Guide to Czech Republic v Scotland

Progress was certainly made during the national team’s Group D matches against Germany, Georgia, Gibraltar, Poland and the Republic of Ireland.

However, only picking up five points from their last five matches resulted in Scotland finishing in fourth spot in their section and missing out.

There must be a stark improvement if they are to progress to their first finals since France ’98. Strachan’s team take on Malta in Valletta in September so the build-up starts now.

The meeting with a Czech Republic side which topped their Euro 2016 qualifying group after beating the Netherlands home and away won’t be easy.

Here chief football writer Matthew Lindsay looks at what awaits Scotland in the Generali Arena tonight and what Strachan hopes to achieve from the exercise.

HOW WILL SCOTLAND LINE UP?

Gordon Strachan admitted yesterday that the result against the Czech Republic was, despite it being a friendly, important for Scotland this evening.

So he will, despite calling up several promising and uncapped players to his squad, probably field a strong and experienced starting line-up.

He is looking to start his preparations for what promises to be a demanding World Cup qualifying campaign – with England, Slovakia, Slovenia, Lithuania and Malta all awaiting in Group F – here this evening.

Allan McGregor, who has lost his place in the Scotland side to David Marshall, of Hull City should be preferred to Scott Bain of Dundee in goals.

Aston Villa right back Alan Hutton, meanwhile, is set to win his 50th cap for his country and he should be joined in defence by Russell Martin of Norwich, Charlie Mulgrew of Celtic and Andy Robertson of Hull City.

Ahead of them, Darren Fletcher should get the nod to start as one of the deep lying central midfielders in the 4-2-3-1 formation which Strachan favours.

The former Manchester United man has been unable to hold down a place in the starting line-up since recovering from the ulcerative colitis that sidelined him for long spells in the 2011/12 and 2012/13 seasons.

But he is playing regularly and consistently well for West Brom in the Premier League in England and will be determined to show his manager he is deserving of a regular start here. There is intense competition in his position. He will have to enjoy a good game to further his personal cause.

Who plays alongside Fletcher is less obvious. But Kevin McDonald of Wolves has played as a defensive midfielder for Wolves in the English Championship and might get the nod.

Robert Snodgrass, who has recovered from the dislocated kneecap that sidelined him for the duration of the Euro 2016 qualifying campaign, is sure to feature at some stage either on the right wing or off a lone striker.

Elsewhere, Ikechi Anya of Watford, Barry Bannan of Sheffield Wednesday and Matt Phillips of QPR will be hoping to be selected in the advanced roles.

Either Ross McCormack, the Fulham forward who was only called up on Monday, or Tony Watt, the Blackburn Rovers striker who was a surprise inclusion in the 18 man squad, will play in attack. Both Steven Fletcher (virus) and Steven Naismith (hamstring) have withdrawn.

McCormack, who has been a regular scorer in the English Championship this term, will be out to show that he has something to offer his country in the World Cup qualifiers.

It will be interesting, too, to see how Watt fares. Having reviewed all 10 of his side’s Euro 2016 qualifying games, Strachan has come to the conclusion that he needs to bring in players who offer something different, up front especially.

The 59-year-old is hopeful the former Celtic player, who has failed to fulfil his potential after scoring the winner in a Champions League group game against Barcelona in 2012, can add an extra dimension to his team up front.

But the 22-year-old has infuriated a succession of coaches and managers with his questionable attitude during his career. Has he finally matured? Can he grasp this opportunity? It remains to be seen.

Strachan has stuck pretty rigidly to his preferred 4-2-3-1 formation in qualifying. It was only really in the games against Gibraltar that he deviated from it. He has suggested, though, that he may tweak things to suit the personnel at his disposal.

The likes of Bain, Paul Caddis, the Birmingham City right back who was another late replacement for Christophe Berra of Ipswich, Gordon Greer of Brighton and Kenny McLean of Aberdeen could all get some game time. Bain, Caddis, McDonald, McLean and Watt are all uncapped.

WHAT ABOUT THE CZECHS?

The Czech Republic, who have been drawn to face Spain, Turkey and Croatia, in Group D of the Euro 2016 finals, will be keen to win this match as they look towards France in the summer.

Czech manager Pavel Vrba will be without Arsenal duo Petr Czech, his first choice goalkeeper and captain, and Tomas Rosicky, who have 218 caps between them.

However, he has plenty of class and experience at his disposal. Celtic fans will certainly remember defender Michal Kadlec from the Parkhead club’s Europa League games against Fenerbahce this season.

The Czech players will certainly be keen to stake a claim for a starting XI in that tournament and will be treating the match seriously.

SCORE PREDICTION

The last time Scotland played against the Czech Republic in Prague in 2010 in a Euro 2012 qualifier the then manager Craig Levein fielded his infamous 4-6-0 formation. The result was a 1-0 defeat which proved costly to our chances of reaching the finals.

Strachan will not make the same mistake this evening. Most members of the Tartan Army were pleased when he agreed to sign a new contract and accept the responsibility of leading Scotland to Russia 2018. But pressure will grow on him if his slide fails to perform to the best of their abilities.

A classic blend of youth and experience should enable the national team to get at least a draw against opponents missing some important personnel.

Czech Republic 1, Scotland 1