Scotland welcome Poland to Hampden Park on Thursday night looking to keep their hopes of qualifying for Euro 2016 alive by picking up at least a point on home soil.

The away side, meanwhile, know that a victory would ensure progression to France next year by guaranteeing them at least second spot in the group standings.

Scotland

The Scots currently hold fourth spot in the group behind Germany, Poland and the Republic of Ireland, and the only hope that lies ahead is that they are able to gain progression via the playoffs.

To achieve that, they would first have to finish in third place, which is currently held by Martin O'Neill's ROI charges. A win for them in either of their final two fixtures would end Scotland's hopes, but with games against Germany and Poland to come, Scotland will still be hopeful that the Republic could slip up.

Ideally Scotland require three points on Thursday, while a draw against Poland would mean that they will be reliant on Germany beating Ireland in order to keep qualification in sight. Should they lose to the Poles on home soil, Gordon Strachan's men would be out of the running to make it to France next year.

Going into the contest, some of Scotland's influential men have enjoyed standout domestic performances, with the likes of Leigh Griffiths, Steven Fletcher and Jordan Rhodes all able to get on the scoresheet for their respective clubs at the weekend.

What will be at the forefront of the players' minds, however, is the number of points dropped from key games already in the group, especially that poor defeat away against Georgia at the start of September.

Despite also losing to Germany in the next game, the 3-2 loss to the World Cup holders did provide some hope in the way that Scotland put together some memorable attacking moves, and Strachan will be seeking more of the same intent to really bring the Scottish crowd into play on Thursday night.

Recent form: WWWDLL

Poland

Travelling Poland come into the game keen to ensure that they are able to at least finish Group D in second place behind what appears to be a group-winning Germany side.

Poland's only real threat remaining is the Republic of Ireland, and they still have them to face on Sunday. What Adam Nawalka will really be after, however, is a win on Thursday to ensure that they finish somewhere in the top two of the group.

The visitors were defeated by Germany back in September, but they responded straight away to put eight goals past a visiting Gibraltar side to keep their aspirations of qualification firmly in their own hands.

Nawalka will be excited by the prospect of having Robert Lewandowski back in his grasp following the frontman's mammoth goal tally so far in the Bundesliga, while fellow European-league competitors Jakub Blaszczykowski and Lukasz Piszczek have had some good playing time for their clubs too.

Poland could also been inspired by the recall of former international servant Artur Sobiech, who has impressed while leading the line for German side Hannover over the past month.

Poland were a tad wasteful when they drew at home to Scotland in their previous fixture on home soil, but Nawalka will be confident that he has enough in-form players to earn three points on the road to secure progression.

Recent form: DWDWLW

Team News

Strachan is still waiting on news of injuries from a number of players, but West Bromwich Albion midfielder Darren Fletcher was able to take part in the squad's training session on Monday.

What will be a concern for fans, though, is that Watford winger Ikechi Anya sat out of training following his muscle issue picked up against Bournemouth in the Premier League.

Kevin McDonald has also pulled out of the squad, while Celtic's Charlie Mulgrew remains out with an injury. The Scots will be without James Morrison through suspension, but he will return in their final game away against Gibraltar.

As for Poland, the only change to Nawalka's squad has been the addition of Sobiech and the visitors will expect to be near enough full strength for the journey to Scotland.

Scotland possible starting lineup:
Marshall; Hutton, R Martin, Hanley, Shinnie; McArthur, Dorrans, Brown, Forrest; Maloney, Fletcher

Poland possible starting lineup:
Fabianski; Piszczek, Szukala, Glik, Rybus; Maczynski, Jodlowiec, Krychowiak, Grosicki; Lewandowski, Milik

Head To Head

The clubs last met in the reverse of this qualifying fixture back in October 2014, where Scotland were able to steal a point away from home. They had found themselves 2-1 up at one point in the game, but succumbed to a late Arkadiusz Milik goal to draw 2-2 in Poland.

Prior to that these sides have met in three friendlies in recent history, two of which were drawn while the other was won by Scotland, who grabbed a 1-0 win at the Stadion Narodowy in March 2014.

We say: Scotland 1-1 Poland

Scotland have what it takes to ensure that they are not totally out of the running, but they will be coming up against a Poland side with lots of key men in form. Hampden Park can be an electric place when required and the Scotland players will be looking for their fans to play a huge part once the contest is underway. The Scots have thrown away silly points at times in this group, although the romance of the occasion coupled with the qualities they have going forward might just see Strachan's men snatch a point.