Hampden talking points

Permutations: Scotland’s 3-0 win in Lithuania on Friday night took them into third place behind England and Slovakia. With three fixtures remaining, Gordon Strachan’s side are six points behind the Auld Enemy and four behind the Slovaks. In essence, Scotland still probably need three wins out of their last three Group F fixtures and it would be unthinkable not to get one against Malta.

Will England beat Slovakia at Wembley? It might be somewhat ironic that the Scots need England to beat Slovakia. A victory for the Three Lions at Wembley would put the chances of a second place finish in Scotland’s own hands. England, though, have their own reasons for victory. Gareth Southgate’s side are only two points ahead of their hosts and will want to secure automatic qualification.

Crowd size: Malta are not one of the great draws in international football and the qualification campaign at times has been hard going for the Tartan Army. Scotland, however, are generally one of the better supported countries and the enthusiasm from the win over Lithuania will encourage some who were ready to give the game a miss. Tickets are still available and a late surge in sales could take the crowd up to around 25,000.

Can Hampden stay patient? The Scots won 5-1 in Malta in their first qualifier so know what they are up against but the scenario at Hampden Park will be different. Patience on and off the park will be key and that was stressed by Strachan who noted how hard Malta were to break down before eventually losing 4-0 to England on Friday night. Those Tartan Army members who do attend must not get too anxious in the absence of an early breakthrough.

Will Strachan keep the same team? Strachan went with six Celtic players and a surprise inclusion of Matt Phillips for the Lithuania game on Friday and it paid off with a convincing win. The Scotland boss stressed at his pre-match press conference that he had players who had played a lot and some who had had little game time this season. That suggested that Strachan might make changes but there would be no complaints if he stuck to the same starting XI.