03.06. (Fri) 20:35 Austria - Germany

DID YOU KNOW?

Austria are three points behind Belgium, but have a game in hand as they try to secure a spot as runners-up in Group A.

The hosts will be very familiar with their opponents: five players in their squad play in the German Bundesliga.

Constantini's men have lost their last two matches, prompting a shuffling of the squad ahead of their showdown with Germany.

Young midfielder and full-back Daniel Royer has been promoted from the under-21 team and could make his first senior cap on Friday.

The last time Austria faced Germany was at Euro 2008, on home soil. The final score read 1-0 to the visitors.

Germany have a perfect 15 points from five Euro 2012 qualifiers.

Die Mannschaft could book their spot at Euro 2012 with victories over Austria and Azerbaijan in their next two matches.

Alongside the Netherlands, Low's squad boasts Europe's best goal difference in qualifiers, with the second-highest goals scored tally, and joint-best defensive record.

The last time Germany failed to qualify for a major tournament was in 1968, when they missed out on the European Championships.

Mario Gomez has scored in his last two international matches.

PROBABLE LINE-UPS

Austria (4-2-3-1)
Berger; Dragovic, Prodl, Pogatetz, Fuchs; Pehlivan, Bumgartlinger; Harnik, Juzonovic, Alaba; Janko

The most glaring omission from Didi Constantini's squad is Marko Arnautovic, who after some poor performances - and questionable behaviour - has been dropped. Andreas Ivanschitz has also failed to earn a call. The upcoming matches allow Constantini to experiment with his squad, which includes four uncapped players. Among them is Hans-Peter Berger, who will deputise for injured goalkeeper Jurgen Macho.

Constantini is unlikely to be overly aggressive and will likely start Marc Janko as a lone striker, meaning that Stefan Maierhofer, who only recently recovered from a metatarsal injury, will be relegated to the bench.

Germany (4-2-3-1)
Neuer; Lahm, Friedrich, Hummels, Schmelzer; Khedira, Kroos; Muller, Ozil, Podolski; Gomez

Germany have suffered a blight of injuries in recent weeks, with Miroslav Klose and Christian Trasch the most recent candidates to drop out of Joachim Low's squad. In addition, Marco Reus, Bastian Schweinsteiger and Sven Bender have been forced to withdraw, meaning that the coach will have a headache as he selects his defensive midfield pairing.

Sami Khedira may start after recovering from a hamstring problem, but Simon Rolfes remains an option in defensive midfield alongside Toni Kroos. In place of Klose, Mario Gomez will get the nod.

Prediction

Austria always bring their best game when facing their neighbours, and Friday's match should be no different. When these teams met at Euro 2008, only a Michael Ballack free kick separated the two teams. In this case, the visitors will have a better, if less experienced, team that ought to be able to grind out another victory.

Austria 0-1 Germany

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Euro 2012 qualifying preview: Groups E, F and I - 03/06/2011

Group E

San Marino - Finland

Finland have perhaps reason to feel they have underachieved thus far in the group. While the Netherlands were widely expected to run away with top spot, the Finns have so far failed to mount a serious challenge for second place and they lie second bottom, having played four games and taken just three points to Sweden's nine. However, in Mikael Forssell, they have the third top goalscorer in the section with five goals.

San Marino are unsurprisingly the whipping boys and after five games sit rock bottom. They are yet to find the back of the net and have conceded 29 goals to date, almost six a game. When they last played Finland back in November, they succumbed to an embarrassing 8-0 defeat. Their last win in any international came in a friendly victory over Liechtenstein back in 2004.

Moldova - Sweden

Sweden will play only their fifth game of the qualifying campaign, but they are currently sitting second in the group with nine points, level with Hungary who have already played six matches. A win for Erik Hamren's side will see them move into pole position to qualify for Poland-Ukraine 2011 as one of the best runners-up. However, they will have to get the points without star striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic as the AC Milan striker misses out with an ankle injury.

Moldova are third from bottom having collected just six points from five games. Although they suffered a narrow loss at home to the Dutch, they did manage to overcome Finland in a 2-0 victory last September. Having already played Sweden in the group, and lost 2-1 in Solna, they will be out for revenge.

Group F

Croatia - Georgia

Croatia, who are still coached by Slaven Bilic, occupy second spot in a group, which has become a four-way battle for the top two spots. They have a creditable 10 points to their name from five games, although they suffered defeat last time out in the reverse fixture in Tblisi. They have won one and drawn one of their two home games so far and are yet to concede a goal.

Georgia will be looking to build on their excellent 1-0 win at home to the Croatians in their previous competitive fixture, which came courtesy of a winning goal from Hertha Berlin's Levan Kobiashvili, whom they will be without for this upcoming encounter. With Temuri Ketsbaia's side having played a game more than Greece or Croatia, at least a point is essential to stay in the qualification hunt.

Group I

Liechtenstein - Lithuania

Hosts Liechtenstein have been true to form in the group stages so far with four defeats from four, although unlike San Marino, they have at least mustered a goal, which famously came via the boot of Mario Frick in Hampden Park as the minnows almost embarrassed Scotland. They have had two home defeats so far, to top two Spain and the Czech Republic. Unfortunately, Frick is suspended for this clash.

Lithuania are fourth in the five-team group with four points, level with Scotland though trailing Craig Levein's men on goal difference. A win would take them within two points of second-placed Czech Republic and they will be looking to this game and their next encounter, the return game against Liechtenstein, to mount a charge for the play-off spot. Their solitary win in the group so far came away to the Czechs last September but they have played Spain twice.

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03.06. (Fri) 02:50 Velez Sarsfield - Penarol

DID YOU KNOW?

Velez Sarsfield must win in the Jose Almafitani tonight to have any chance of making the final for the second time.
1-0 down, the onus will be on strike duo Juan Manuel Martinez (right) and Santiago Silva to hit home: the pair have already hit six between them in the competition so far.
The club's last visit to the last four was in 1994, where they beat Colombians Junior on the way to lifting the title.
Coach Ricardo Gareca has an unfortunate relationship with the Libertadores; having lost three consecutive finals with America de Cali between 1985-87.
The 1987 final was against none other than tonight's opponents, with coach Diego Aguirre up front.
Penarol are also looking to cut short a long dry spell in the Copa, 1987 being the last time they reached the final.
This is their record 14th appearance in the semi-finals, more than any other team.
Of their previous 13 appearances, they have gone on to the final nine times, registering five titles and four defeats in the decider.
The Manya have played away in every Libertadores second-leg this year, with one victory (vs. Internacional) and one defeat (vs. Universidad Catolica).
The side have scored just 13 times in 11 games on their way to this match, just over half the amount scored by their Argentine rivals (24).

PROBABLE LINE-UPS

Velez Sarsfield (4-3-1-2):
Barovero; Cubero, Domínguez, Ortiz, Papa; Fernandez, Razzotti, Zapata; Moralez; Silva, Martínez

After the last-minute withdrawal of Moralez last week, Velez are boosted by the return of their top scorer for this crucial encounter.

Penarol (4-4-2):
Sosa; G. Rodriguez, D. Rodriguez, Gonzalez, Valdez; Aguiar, Freitas, Corujo, Mier; Olivera, Martinuccio

Striker Diego Alonso is the only forced absence for Diego Aguirre, who has the luxury of picking an unchanged team from the first leg.

Prediction

Velez Sarsfield 3-1 Penarol

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