Scotland vs Slovenia: Where to watch, Preview, Line-Ups and Odds

Ryan Murray

Having claimed his maiden victory as Scotland boss at the weekend, Sébastien Pocognoli will be hoping his team can maintain their momentum when Slovenia visit Hampden on Tuesday evening.

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These two teams kicked off their respective Nations League campaigns against one another, but neither would have been particularly ecstatic with the outcome.

Andraž Šporar found the net during the early stages of a quiet first half at the Stožice Stadium, but the Slovan Bratislava striker’s effort was ruled out for offside. Both sides then hit the frame of the goal, with Vanja Drkušić heading onto the crossbar and Robbie Ure striking a post from range.

The visitors burst into life after the break, playing some of the attractive attacking football that Pocognoli has promised will be a feature of his tenure.

Oli McBurnie missed the best of several clear-cut chances, attempting to round Jan Oblak when he may have been better dinking the ball over the onrushing ‘keeper. With the hosts offering little threat throughout the piece, it ultimately ended goalless in the Slovenian capital.

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The Scots were then soundly beaten by Switzerland at Hampden, although Jack Hendry’s early red card was a key driver behind their downfall.

However, Pocognoli will have been delighted with Saturday’s performance against North Macedonia, who were subjected to a chorus of boos from the home crowd at full-time. A low-driven finish from Kieron Bowie and John McGinn’s second-half penalty secured all three points, but the margin of victory should really have been greater given the scale of Scotland’s dominance.

Slovenia’s results are almost a mirror image, having also registered a 2-0 win over North Macedonia before losing to the Swiss.

However, Boštjan Cesar’s men were unlucky not to take a share of the spoils in Luzern, after taking an early lead in what turned out to be a narrow defeat. It also means Slovenia have now navigated their toughest fixture, with Scotland yet to face the group leaders on foreign soil.

The BBC is providing comprehensive live coverage of Tuesday night’s meeting at Hampden across their television and online channels. Steven Thompson will present reaction and analysis from the studio, while his former international teammate James McFadden serves as co-commentator alongside Liam McLeod.

Scotland vs Slovenia – Key information

Date: Tuesday, 6th October

Kick-off time: 19:45 (BST)

Venue: Hampden Park, Glasgow

Referee: TBC

VAR: TBC

TV Channels/Live stream: BBC Scotland, BBC Two, BBC iPlayer, and the BBC Sport website

Odds: Scotland: 8/11, Draw: 13/5, Slovenia: 4/1

Odds provided by bet365

Scotland team news

Having only just welcomed back Jack Hendry from suspension, Scotland are now without the services of fellow central defender Scott McKenna. The Dinamo Zagreb star wiped out Agon Elezi during the closing stages at the Toše Proeski Arena, resulting in French referee François Letexier brandishing a red card.

Andy Robertson seemed desperate to mark his 100th international cap with a rare goal, but only one of his four attempts forced Stole Dimitrievski into a save. It looks as if Ben Gannon-Doak will once again feature on the opposite flank to the Scotland skipper, after impressing in his first start of the campaign.

A settled central midfield duo of Billy Gilmour and Lewis Ferguson will operate just behind John McGinn, who was back to his scintillating best on Saturday night. The experienced playmaker had received criticism from some quarters for his recent outputs in a Scotland jersey, but capped off a fine display with a clinically converted spot-kick.

Expect the strike partnership of Oli McBurnie and Kieron Bowie to continue up front, while Angus Gunn is set to keep his place between the sticks after earning the 10th clean sheet of his international career at the weekend.

Scotland predicted line-up vs. Slovenia (3-4-1-2)

Coach: Sébastien Pocognoli

Angus Gunn (GK); Stephen Welsh, Jack Hendry, Luis Binks; Ben Gannon-Doak, Billy Gilmour, Lewis Ferguson, Andrew Robertson; John McGinn; Oli McBurnie, Kieron Bowie

Slovenia team news

Benjamin Šeško was forced to withdraw from the Slovenia squad ahead of the international break, after aggravating the shin injury he sustained during Manchester United’s clash with Liverpool at the end of last season.

With his star man sidelined, Boštjan Cesar has used both Andraž Šporar and Swansea City’s Žan Vipotnik as the solitary striker in a 5-4-1 formation. It seems as if Vipotnik – who concluded the 2025/26 Championship campaign as the division’s top scorer with 23 goals – is now first in the pecking order, having broken the deadlock against Switzerland in his second consecutive start.

The former Maribor boss selected the same back five for Slovenia’s opening two Nations League matches, but drafted David Zec into his starting line-up at the expense of David Brekalo on Saturday evening. However, as Vanja Drkušić still looks to be carrying the knock he picked up in the first meeting with Scotland, don’t be surprised if Brekalo is recalled.

Aljoša Matko came off the bench to double his country’s lead over North Macedonia, earning him a start at the weekend. The 26-year-old winger is likely to retain his position on the right-hand flank, while the man who opened the scoring in Skopje – Udinese midfielder Sandi Lovric – will look to dictate play from the middle of the park.

Slovenia predicted line-up vs. Scotland (5-4-1)

Coach: Boštjan Cesar

Jan Oblak (GK); Žan Karničnik, David Zec, David Brekalo, Jaka Bijol, Erik Janža; Aljoša Matko, Adam Gnezda Čerin, Sandi Lovric, Danijel Šturm; Žan Vipotnik

Where to watch on TV or live stream?

For the 15 months leading up to this summer’s World Cup, the BBC held broadcasting rights for every qualifier, Nations League, and friendly fixture involving Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland.

That arrangement has since been extended for a further two years, enabling the non-travelling Tartan Army to watch their team on free-to-air television between now and the 2028 European Championships, which will be staged across the United Kingdom and Ireland.

Tuesday’s clash at Hampden will be screened on BBC Scotland and BBC Two, while online viewers can follow the action by logging into BBC iPlayer or visiting the BBC Sport website.

Head-to-Head record

Scotland have never been beaten by Slovenia, although four of their six previous contests have ended in a draw.

Ahead of this month’s stalemate, these two teams last met during the 2018 World Cup qualification campaign. The Scots managed to battle to a narrow home victory, with Leigh Griffiths hitting the woodwork twice before Chris Martin’s 88th-minute strike. However, the return leg would provide the biggest disappointment of Gordon Strachan’s managerial reign.

The visitors arrived at the Stožice Stadium knowing that they needed a victory to assure themselves a place in Russia, although a draw would have been enough had they converted Griffiths’ free-kick masterclass against England into three points.

It was Griffiths again who put Scotland in front on a night of high drama in Ljubljana, before Roman Bezjak fired back with a second-half brace to put the hosts in control. Robert Snodgrass steered the ball past Jan Oblak to give Scotland hope in the closing stages, but neither team could find a winner despite there being a couple of stoppage-time opportunities at both ends. During that late flurry of activity, current Slovenia boss Boštjan Cesar was sent off on his 101st and final international appearance.

With Slovakia comfortably overcoming Malta in Group F’s other key contest, the Tartan Army were left to rue yet another glorious failure.