Visitors hoping its a Lucky night

Slovenian journalist Miran Zore looks at five key issues for his country as they bid to close in on a finals place

Slovenia are managed by Srecko Katanec – where have we heard that name before?

One of Slovenia’s all-time greatest players, Zlatko Zahovic, had a bust-up with Srecko Katanec at the 2002 World Cup in Japan and South Korea. Katanec, who resigned after the tournament, kicked Zahovic out of the squad “for the good of the team” after the first match against Spain.

Ugly scenes, including Zahovic kicking a water bottle over and Katanec crying at the press conference, were broadcast worldwide and overshadowed Slovenia’s World Cup debut. Katanec, a former Yugoslavia player who enjoyed a successful playing career in Italy and Germany, took the Slovenia job for a second time in 2013 after unsatisfying stints in charge of Olympiakos, Macedonia and United Arab Emirates.

During his coaching career, he became infamous for his fall-outs with big players such as Zahovic (Slovenia), Goran Pandev (Macedonia), Josip Ilicic and, most recently, Kevin Kampl, the Bayer Leverkusen midfielder, who clashed with Katanec last year and has played in only one qualifier.

Kampl, pictured, wants to play as a central midfielder, like he does in the Bundesliga, but Katanec believes his best position is on the left. Still, his last name Katanec (lucky) is widely considered as a kind of guarantee of success in Slovenia.

4-2-3-1, 3-4-3 or something else?

Katanec is very likely to use a 4-4-2 diamond formation with Valter Birsa at the tip. Another possible formation is 4-1-4-1 which was used against England last year and it worked up to the point where Slovenia almost – but couldn’t quite – pull off a major shock.

Northern Ireland beat Slovenia last year, why can’t Scotland?

Michael O’Neill’s side recorded a morale-boosting win over Slovenia at Windsor Park last March during their preparations for the Euro 2016 finals but they faced a different team to the one Scotland will encounter. The evidence for that statement comes from tracking Slovenia’s progress in the World Cup 2018 qualifiers so far.

The first match, against Lithuania, brought a lucky draw and much public anger but Slovenia played far better afterwards in the wins over Slovakia and Malta and the aforementioned draw against England, with Josip Ilicic one of the key players. It is correct that Slovenia have never won a football match in the UK (seven games, three draws, four defeats) but they are now an unpredictable side with a solid defence which has conceded only two goals in four matches. The midfield is more than decent and there is some quality up front. The feeling in Slovenia is that Scotland is in crisis and is playing the role of the Northern Irish right now, of being the weakest side in the UK at present.

Which players should Scotland worry about?

Slovenia are united and strong as a team but Katanec also possesses some genuine individual quality at his disposal. Slovenia’s top player is, fittingly, the No 1, Jan Oblak (Atletico Madrid), who is among Europe’s goalkeeping elite. Serie A and Bundesliga stars Ilicic (Fiorentina) and Kampl are technically gifted players who are intelligent with the ball at their feet and good at opening space in behind. Nor can we forget winger Birsa (Chievo), who is a set-piece specialist.

What’s the mood in Slovenia, can you qualify?

Slovenia are in a strong position in Group F. Second place is there for the taking and, three points in Glasgow, would certainly be a step closer to that goal. There are some burning issues in the team though, like Kampl’s comeback after the bust-up with Katanec and his subsequent omission from the team (the players then spoke publicly of Kampl’s treason).

There’s also Luka Zahovic’s wait for a call-up (Zlatko Zahovic’s son, who is in a great form for Slovenian league leaders Maribor), and the poor club form plaguing the strikers Robert Beric, Milivoje Novakovic and Roman Bezjak.

Nevertheless, a point at Hampden Park should be the minimum aim. Katanec has described Scotland as a good side with fighting spirit but in his dealings with the media, he is always trying to project the role of underdog on to his team.