What version of Greece will Scotland face at Hampden?

World Cup qualifying: Scotland v Greece

Venue: Hampden, Glasgow Date: Thursday, 9 October Time: 19:45 BST

Coverage: Watch live on BBC Scotland & iPlayer; listen live on BBC Sounds, Radio Scotland & Radio Nan Gaidheal; follow live updates, goal clips and be part of the conversation on BBC Sport website & app

Scotland supporters who watched their team be torn apart by a young Greece side at Hampden in March would have been forgiven for reacting with disbelief as the same team were themselves dismantled by Denmark in September.

This was a Danish side who, only a few nights earlier, had struggled to create a meaningful opportunity against the Scots in Copenhagen.

Yet they travelled to Athens to put three past their hosts, who had begun the World Cup qualifying campaign with a 5-1 thumping of Belarus.

How had this talented young group of Greeks been picked apart by the Danes having been outstanding in the Nations League play-off comeback against an admittedly abject Scotland?

And, more importantly now, which iteration of Greece will turn up at Hampden on Thursday, with a place at the World Cup next summer up for grabs?

The Denmark game looks like a bit of an aberration given most of their other results and performances, which is perhaps to be expected from such a young squad.

On the night, the Danes snuffed out the threat of Kostas Karetsas, Giannis Konstantelias and Christos Tzolis. All three had tormented the Scots at Hampden, with all three scoring.

Captain Andy Robertson, in particular, was given a tough time by the 17-year-old Karetsas on his first start.

The Genk winger came on for his debut in the first-leg defeat by Scotland, helping turn the tide in the second half as Steve Clarke's side somewhat fortunately emerged with a 1-0 victory.

Since then, Karetsas' star has continued to rise. Reports began to emerge that he might miss out on Thursday through illness, but any Scottish hopes were quickly dampened as the teenager trained on Wednesday, although head coach Ivan Jovanovic said he would be assessed up until kick-off.

The biggest difference between the Denmark game and the one at Hampden - as well as emphatic friendly wins over Slovakia and Bulgaria and the first qualifier against Belarus - was that the Danes did not allow those young talents to flourish.

They were not afforded anything like the same time and space - something Scotland will have to learn from.

Don't expect Jovanovic to abandon his new commitment to this potentially golden generation as a result of that wake-up call.

If Karetsas is fit to start, the likelihood is that he, Konstantelias and Tzolis will once again support Benfica's Vangelis Pavlidis.

In midfield, 31-year-old Dimitris Kourbelis was given the nod over another teenager, Christos Mouzakitis, against Denmark, but the 18-year-old could well reprise his role alongside Christos Zafeiris, both of whom operated well at Hampden.

At the back, Dinos Koulierakis is already an established first choice at just 21 and goalkeeper Konstantis Tzolakis, 22, has started the first two qualifiers having also played the double-header against Scotland.

The line-up has not varied greatly since and one bad result will not change that, so Scotland will be up against familiar opponents.

They just have to make sure they use the lessons from March and September to their advantage in order to keep up the positive start to World Cup qualification.