Auld Enemy: The oldest rivalry in football takes centre stage this weekend as Scotland travel south of the border to meet England at Wembley.

There may have been a couple of ‘friendly’ (yes I know Scotland and England don’t do friendlies) encounters in the past few years, but today’s game is the real deal with World Cup qualification at stake.

Strachan’s side began their campaign on a high against Malta, but were defeated in their most recent game away to Slovakia and only managed a point during a frustrating night at Hampden against Lithuania.

Both games were obviously disappointing for the ever-present Tartan Army, but if there was any game likely to get the campaign back on track, England at Wembley would certainly be the fixture to do just that.

The last time the pair met at Wembley was back in 2013 when England were the victors by three goals to two. Kenny Miller and James Morrison were on target for the Scots and if that battle was anything to go by, we are in for a cracker come 7:45 tonight.

Tonight’s Auld Enemy clash is the 49th time Scotland have faced England at Wembley. The Three Lions have won on 23 occasions, whilst the Scots have been victorious 15 times – lets hope they can add to this tally tonight.

England are currently going through a transition period with Roy Hodgson stepping down after a poor performance at the Euro’s in France. Big Sam was next up, but he was relieved of his post after just one game, following some off field controversy.

Now England have a young yet experienced manager at the helm in Gareth Southgate. Following his time coaching the under 21s, Southgate will be expected to produce the goods at Wembley – especially since he has already worked with a number of the first team squad.

Southgate has over £250 million worth of talent at his disposal, compared to his Scottish counterpart Gordon Strachan whose 25-man squad is worth just over £66 million.

But when England and Scotland meet it’s more than a battle of price tags. Whoever comes out on top at full time tonight will need to have shown plenty fight and desire.

You never know what you’re going to get with Scotland, but what we do know is that a win would draw them level on points with England. Fight and desire are characteristics Scotland have without doubt shown in the past and with the whole nation behind Strachan and his men who knows what could happen tonight. Come on Scotland let’s do this.

Blog by Aidan Smith for 360 Sports Consultancy: The sports consultancy with a difference