Scotland forward Steven Naismith

"It will be more than just a friendly, with it being against a country so close to home and with a lot of the players knowing each other and playing against each other. So there will be more of an edge to it."

The Everton forward is another regular starter given a breather...

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"I was lucky enough to play at Hampden quite a few times [for Rangers] and had some success there so I'm looking forward to it.

"It's a good friendly for both ourselves and Scotland. I expect the game to have a bit of an edge because both sets of players are used to playing against each other at various stages of their careers.

"The mentality of both sets of players is always to give 100% and I think it's good preparation for the Finland game."

The Southampton midfielder starts among the substitutes tonight, with Jonny Evans leading the team.

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Darren Fletcher reclaims the captain's armband for Scotland, with Scott Brown rested. The midfielder is enjoying regular game time at West Brom following a frustrating period on the fringes at Old Trafford.

Who will lead the team when Gordon Strachan is picking his strongest side?

There are lots of substitutes and I would not be surprised to see the managers use their full allowance. Northern Ireland trio Kyle Lafferty, Niall McGinn and Corry Evans are nursing minor injuries and are unlikely to be risked.

Teenage defender Paddy McNair earns his first Northern Ireland cap. The 19-year-old has been given a taste of top-team action at Manchester United this season.

He is joined at the back by club-mate Jonny Evans, who is currently serving a six-match domestic suspension.

Brentford's Stuart Dallas and MK Dons' Ben Reeves each win a second cap in midfield.

Scotland: Gordon, Whittaker, Forsyth, Greer, Martin, McArthur, D Fletcher, Ritchie, S Fletcher, Maloney, Anya.

Northern Ireland: McGovern, McNair, Hughes, Evans, Lafferty, Baird, Norwood, Magennis, Reeves, Dallas, Grigg.

Managers Gordon Strachan and Michael O'Neill will experiment with a few fringe players this evening, with Bournemouth winger Matt Ritchie making his Scotland debut after a first call-up and Derby left-back Craig Forsyth getting a first start.

Goalkeeper Craig Gordon starts for the first time since 2010 following his remarkable comeback from nearly two years out through injury.

At the weekend, Northern Ireland are at home to Finland, aiming to build on a fabulous start to their campaign. Impressive wins in Hungary and Greece have propelled Michael O'Neill's team to second place in Group F. Scotland have lost just once in their opening four qualifiers - away to World Cup winners Germany - and will be confident of taking three more points from minnows Gibraltar in Glasgow.

Good evening and welcome to our coverage of Scotland v Northern Ireland from Hampden Park. This friendly is the warm-up act for both sides, who will be in Euro 2016 qualifying action on Sunday.