Former Everton star James McFadden is convinced by the potential of their young fullbacks Nathan Patterson and Vitalli Mykolenko.

Patterson's Scotland will host Ukraine at Hampden Park, with the winner set to travel to Wales to decide who will be jetting off to tournament's finals in Qatar this winter.

“I hope he doesn't get any shots away from the edge of the box, certainly after his goal against Leicester!" McFadden joked in an interview with evertonfc.com.

“When he first came in, I think he struggled a bit, but Frank [Lampard] has managed to come in and get him playing and he's looked brilliant.

“He's a young player who has got a lot of developing still to do.

“He's done great, and Scotland will need to look out for him because this is a huge game.

“Obviously, there's the atrocities in Ukraine and nobody wants to see that.

“I'm just happy that the Ukrainian players feel that they can play the game.

“If they're feeling right and ready to play, then I'm glad the game is going ahead.

“It will be an experience that I have never seen or been involved in before. Playing against a team that has so much going on in the background at home.

“It's going to be a strange day, but Vitaili Mykolenko has been excellent. He's been excellent for Everton over the last few weeks, and we (Scotland) just need to make sure that we don't let him shoot."

Despite frustration following an ankle injury that curtailed the 20-year-old's season early, McFadden is confident the former Rangers defender will become a key performer under Lampard.

“He's come down and hasn't played much yet, but he's shown with his performances with Scotland that he's a talented player," added McFadden.

“It won't faze him coming to play for Everton.

"It's great for Everton and it's great for Scotland."