02.09. (Fri) 21:00 Albania - France

PROBABLE LINE-UPS

Albania:
Beqaj; Vangjeli, Lila, Curri, Dalku; Bulku, Cana, Lala, Hyka; Bogdani, Kapllani 

Albania boss Josip Koze has former Marseille captain Lorik Cana in the side, with joint top scorer Erjon Bogdani also looking to shock the Group D leaders. The side will be looking to build on August's 3-2 win over Montenegro.


France (4-2-3-1):
Lloris; Sagna, Abidal, Kaboul, Evra; M’Vila, Nasri; Malouda, Martin, Ribery; Benzema

France boss Laurent Blanc faces a selection headache, especially in defence. PSG starlet Mamadou Sakho is injured and misses out altogether and Adil Rami is suspended for the tie in Albania. Arsenal's Laurent Koscielny has also picked up a back strain and is doubtful to start, with the pairing of Barcelona's Eric Abidal and Tottenham's Younes Kaboul expected to play in front of Hugo Lloris.

Marseille's Mathieu Valbuena and Bayern's Franck Ribery have been recalled to the side after they missed last month's friendly against Chile. Kevin Gameiro, who has four goals for PSG already this season could also feature up front. Marvin Martin's Les Bleus participation is expected to continue in the playmaker role after injuries to Yoann Gourcuff as well as Abou Diaby in midfield.

DID YOU KNOW?

Albania beat Montenegro 3-2 in the August round of friendly internationals. In June, they were beaten by Argentina 4-0.

Josip Kuze's men, ranked 50th in the world are fourth in Group D, five points behind France and four behind Belarus in second.

The Eastern Europeans have played in only one European Championships in 1962.

At the age of 34, Erjon Bogdani is the joint leading scorer with the national team, netting 14 times in 60 appearances.

France are Group D leaders with 13 points, and can take a huge step in claiming a Euro 2012 place with victory in Albania on Friday evening.

Les Bleus are unbeaten since succumbing to a surprise 1-0 defeat to Belarus almost a year ago.

Laurent Blanc's men were held to a 1-1 draw with Chile in Montpellier in August. Loic Remy grabbed the goal for Europeans.

The two nations have met only twice before. In European Championship qualifying for the 1992 tournament, Les Bleus recorded a resounding 5-0 home win, before winning 1-0 in the return game.

Prediction

No disrespect to the Eastern Europeans, but this is a match France really should be winning. The national team has come a long way since last summer's spectacular implosion at the World Cup. With certain players such as Benzema coming good for Laurent Blanc, a comfortable win looks to be the most likely outcome.

Editor's Prediction

Albania 0-3 France

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02.09. (Fri) 20:45 Spain - Chile

PROBABLE LINE-UPS

Spain (4-3-3):
Casillas; Arbeloa, Ramos, Raul Albiol, Dominguez; Xabi Alonso, Xavi, Iniesta; Villa, Torres, Mata

Del Bosque may experiment with his side and there may be starts for Chelsea duo Fernando Torres and Juan Mata with the world champions having cancelled a tie against Brazil in favour of this contest against their South American counterparts.

Spain have included three uncapped players in their squad to face Chile, in the shape of Alvaro Dominguez, Sporting Gijon centre-back Alberto Botia and Barcelona B right-back Martin Montoya, with Vicente del Bosque leaving out veteran defenders Carlos Marchena and Joan Capdevilla as a result.

Barcelona defenders, Carles Puyol and Gerard Pique are out due to injury, along with full-back Andoni Iraola, whilst Nacho Monreal misses out after being named in the squad to play Italy.

Chile (3-5-2):
Bravo; Contreras, Jara, Vidal; Cermona, Beausejour, Medel, Isla, Valdivia; Alexis Sanchez, Orellana

Claudio Borghi will be without defender Waldo Ponce who withdrew from the squad due to injury, as have Matias Fernandez (leg) and Mauricio Pinalla (knee). Mark Gonzalez will also miss the fixture against the World Cup winners in Switzerland due to the same hip injury which kept the CSKA Moscow man out of the Copa America.

Felipe Seymour, who missed the Copa America, is back in contention and is likely to be named on the bench, after recovering from a long-term injury.

Gustavo Canales could make his debut for Chile after receiving a call-up for the match against Spain, whilst Borghi also included uncapped Gerson Acevedo and Christian Vilches.

Barcelona’s summer signing Alexis Sanchez is included in the squad, and at the tender of age of 22 represents Chile's main threat with an impressive international record of 14 goals in 41 appearances.

DID YOU KNOW?

Spain have never lost to Chile in any of their eight fixture; the Europeans have won seven of those matches, and drawn once.

13 players named in the Spain squad to play Chile are from one of Barcelona or Real Madrid, the ratio 8:5 in the Catalans' favour.

Spain have dropped to 2nd in the Fifa World Rankings after their defeat to Italy saw Vincent Del Bosque’s fall behind the World Cup finalists Holland.

A David Villa hat-trick would see him become the first Spaniard to reach 50 goals in international colours.

Chile are unbeaten in international friendly matches since the turn of the year; beating Colombia and Estonia, and drawing against the USA, Portugal, Paraguay and France.

During the Copa America, Chile managed a draw against eventual winners Uruguay in the group stages but were beaten, surprisingly, by Venezuela in the quarter-finals.

It took Chile until their 34th international to register a victory. They made up for lost time, though, with a 7-1 win over Bolivia in 1926.

Chile faced Spain in the 2010 World Cup group stages, with Marcelo Bielsa's side beaten 2-1 in Pretoria after goals from David Villa and Andres Iniesta.

Prediction

The World Champions are going to have too much for the Chileans in Switzerland but the threat of Alexis Sanchez may make for an interesting finish to the game.

Editor's Prediction

Spain 2-1 Chile

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02.09. (Fri) 20:45 Faroe Islands - Italy

PROBABLE LINE-UPS

Faroe Islands (4-4-2):
Mikkelsen; Tor Naes, Davidsen, Baldvinsson, Gregersen; Holst, Udsen, Olsen, Benjaminsson; Edmundsson, Elttor

A near-identical squad to the one that travelled to Northern Ireland has been picked by Brian Kerr, so it is likely that he will keep faith in his players and maintain the status-quo.

Italy (4-3-1-2):
Buffon; Maggio, Ranocchia, Chiellini, Criscito; Montolivo, De Rossi, Pirlo; Aquilani; Cassano, Rossi

Coach Cesare Prandelli is likely to make just the single change from the team that started Italy's 2-1 victory over Spain earlier in the month, as Thiago Motta is set to be replaced by Riccardo Montolivo. However, the Fiorentina playmaker should drop into midfield, with Alberto Aquilani expected to take the baton as the trequartista in the side.


DID YOU KNOW?

Italy are five points clear at the top of Group C, whilst the Faroe Islands are bottom, three points adrift of Estonia.

However, the hosts have taken points from two of their last three qualifiers on home soil, including a 2-0 win over Estonia in June.

Brian Kerr's men lost 5-0 when these sides first met in Florence on September 7 last year.

The Faroe Islands have lost all four previous meetings with Italy, with three away defeats and one at home.

Their first meeting came in Torshavn in June 2007, when Italy dug out a 2-1 victory, courtesy of a Filippo Inzaghi brace.

Before Italy's 2-0 reverse to Ireland in June, Cesare Prandelli's men were on a nine-match unbeaten run, conceding none at home.

Prediction

The visitors should face virtually no problems from a poor Faroes side, who are set to be consigned to another heavy defeat. Despite an initial transition and experimental period under Cesare Prandelli, Italy have begun to define themselves as a force to be reckoned with, thanks to the development of an exciting tactical philosophy, which has seen the ex-Fiorentina tactician realise the crux of his best team, by taking advantage of their strength through the middle, whilst allowing his players to perform with a refreshing degree of freedom and fluidity.

Editor's Prediction

Faroe 0-4 Italy

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02.09. (Fri) 20:45 Germany - Austria

PROBABLE LINE-UPS

Germany (4-2-3-1)
Neuer; Howedes, Hummels, Badstuber, Lahm; Kroos, Schweinsteiger; Muller, Ozil, Podolski; Klose

Germany's squad has been hit by a number of injuries in recent weeks with Marco Reus, Sami Khedira, Mario Gomez all out of the game with Austria. In addition, Sven Bender has been forced to withdraw, meaning Toni Kroos is the prime candidate to partner Schweinsteiger in the centre of the pitch.

Low announced on Thursday that the 21-year old will start, as will Benedikt Howedes on the right of defence. Mario Gotze will begin from the bench, with Thomas Muller, Mesut Ozil and Lukas Podolski forming the advanced band of the German attacking midfield.

Miroslav Klose is set to deputise for Gomez with Cacau as back-up, while Manuel Neuer is expected to retain his place in goal, ahead of Rob-Robert Zieler, who received his first call-up to the national team last week.

Austria (4-2-3-1)
Gratzei; Klein, Scharner, Pogatetz, Fuchs; Baumgartlinger, Alaba; Harnik, Royer; Arnautovic, Hoffer

The most significant change in Didi Constantini's squad is the late inclusion of Marko Arnautovic, who after some poor performances - and questionable behaviour - was cast away from the national team. Andreas Ivanschitz and Roland Linz, however, have failed to earn a call, while Roman Kienast is out with a fractured metatarsal.

Constantini recently stated that he is unlikely to make major changes to the starting line-up, despite the poor record of five defeats in six game this year.

DID YOU KNOW?

Germany have a perfect 21 points from their seven Euro 2012 qualifiers.

The hosts could book their spot at Euro 2012 with a victory over Austria.

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

Austria met Germany at Euro 2008, when Michael Ballack ensured progression for the next stage for the DFB-Eleven with a free-kick.

The visitors have played 36 games against Germany, but have recorded only eight wins.

Austria defeated the DFB-Team 6-0 in Germany in 1931, their biggest win against their neighbours to date.

Prediction

Taking into account Austria's poor recent record, Germany should become the first nation to qualify for Euro 2012 with a win on Friday night in Gelsenkirchen.

Editor's Prediction

Germany 2-0 Austria

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02.09. (Fri) 20:15 Bulgaria - England

PROBABLE LINE-UPS

Bulgaria (4-1-4-1)
Mihaylov; Bandalovski, Bodurov, Ivanov, Zanev; S Petrov; Georgiev, Marquinhos, Manolev, M Petrov; Popov

Bulgaria should line up similarly to the side that earned a 1-1 draw away in Montenegro, however they will be missing attacking midfielder Hristo Yanev, which could see a chance for experienced old head Blagoy Georgiev of Terek Grozny to come into midfield.
They will be relying on Bolton winger Martin Petrov for a spark as, as ever, their most famous name, Dimitar Berbatov, is conspicuous by his absence.

England (4-2-3-1)
Hart; Smalling, Terry, Lescott, Cole; Lampard, Parker; Johnson, Rooney, Young; Bent

Fabio Capello faces a dilemma at right-back with regular starter Glen Johnson injured. Normally a central defender, Chris Smalling has excelled in the position at Manchester United at the start of this season and may find himself making his international debut in the same role ahead of Micah Richards, for who Capello has never shown any real interest.

The Italian may be tempted to field Liverpool’s Andy Carroll up front but Darren Bent’s recent international scoring record and a desire to avoid falling back into the flawed 4-4-2 formation should see him on the bench with Wayne Rooney playing behind the Aston Villa striker.

DID YOU KNOW?

England have drawn their past two games – 1-1 in a friendly with Ghana in March and 2-2 in their last qualifier against Switzerland in June.

Bulgaria’s trip to Wembley earlier in the first game of the qualifying group saw them lose 4-0 thanks to a hat-trick from Jermain Defoe.

Aston Villa’s Stilyan Petrov, captain for club and country, will equal his nation’s all-time appearance record, tying with goalkeeper Borislav Mihaylov on 102 assuming he plays in Sofia. Mihaylov, 48, is now President of the Bulgarian Football Union, and his son Nikolay, formerly of Liverpool, is likely to start this game.

The England squad contains five uncapped players – goalkeepers David Stockdale and Frankie Fielding, defenders Smalling and Phil Jones, and midfielder Tom Cleverley.

Bulgaria, on the other hand, include three players who could make their international debuts – midfielders Tsvetomir Tsonkov, Simeon Raykov and striker Georgi Bozhilov.

Wayne Rooney is two goals away from reaching England’s all-time top 10 goalscorers. If he nets a brace in Sofia he will join Steve Bloomer and Vivian Woodward on 28 goals. David Platt currently remains one ahead of the Manchester United man.

Prediction
Bulgaria 1-2 England

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02.09. (Fri) 20:00 Ghana - Swaziland

A step closer to Gabon and Equatorial Guinea

The west Africans are almost booking their flight to Gabon and Equatorial Guinea, but will need to increase their goal tally to consolidate the current lead. Ghana top Group I with 10 points, tie with Sudan, but with a better goal difference.
A win against the King’s Shield is a must for the four-time African champions who demolished the Swazis in their own backyard with a 3-0 victory last September. The Black Stars are the favourites for this penultimate qualifying fixture, having won three of their four matches, along with a goalless draw against Sudan.

The World Cup quarter-finalists have conceded only a single goal and scored nine. The odds favour them and judging from their recent outings, they will not make things easy for their opponents – knowing that they will need just a draw to qualify for the continental showpiece in Sudan should they win this game.

Fighting for pride

The journey to the 28th edition of the Nations Cup for the Sihlangu Semnikati has virtually come to an end. They have not won any of their qualifying games up to this stage. The Swazis have conceded 11 goals, scored only two in four fixtures and sit at the bottom of the group with no points to claim.

It will take a great deal of effort for them to earn a point away in Ghana, considering the battle against the second best side on the continent. Their away track record has been dismal since the start of this campaign. They first lost to Congo in a 3-1 defeat in Brazzaville followed by another three without reply in Sudan.

A win over Ghana would bring back their lost pride and would certainly be a victory to celebrate considering the wide gap between themselves and the west Africans on the Fifa rankings.

TEAM NEWS

Ghana
Captain John Mensah has been ruled out of the game due to injury. Coach Goran Stevanovic is expected to start goalkeeper Adam Kwarasey of Stromgodest in between the posts, as well as give Bristol City’s Albert Adomah his debut. Striker Asamoah Gyan is back having served suspension for receiving red in their game against Sudan in October.
Probable Line-up: 
Adam Kwarasey; John Paintsil, Jonathan Mensah, Isaac Vorsah, Samuel Inkoom; Emmanuel Agyemang-Badu, Anthony Annan, Sulley Muntari, Derek Boateng; Prince Tagoe, Asamoah Gyan

Swaziland
The team arrived safely in Ghana and is now training for Friday’s game from the PRESEC school grounds. No injury worries have hit their camp.
Squad
Goalkeepers: Sibusiso Mabuza (Buffaloes),Sandile Ginindza (Wanderers)
Defenders: Sifiso Nkambule (Leopard), Sabelo Gamedze (Highlanders), Sizwe Khumalo (Manzini Sundowns), Siboniso Malambe (Leopard), Jerome Ntshalintshali (Manzini Sundowns), Sihawu Dlamini (Leopard), Siyabonga Mdluli (Green Mamba), Ntobeko Mthimkhulu (Hellenic)
Midfielders: Nkosingiphile Tsabedze(Buffaloes), Lwazi Maziya (Wanderers), Celucolo Mmema (Manzini Sundowns), Tony Tsabedze(unattached), Dennis Masina (Orlando Pirates), Manqoba Kunene (Young Buffaloes)
Strikers: Mzwandile Ndzimandze (University of Pretoria), Zweli Nxumalo (Umbelebele), Mbuso Gina (Mhlambanyatsi Rovers), Mfanafuthi Bhembe (Mbabane Swallows), Sidumo Shongwe (Wanderers), Phinda Nkonyane (Leopard)

PREDICTION

The Ghanaians are the favourites for this game, taking into consideration their previous performances and character. The Swazis are honouring the match as a mere formality in terms of qualification, and know that they have nothing to lose.

Ghana 4-0 Swaziland

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Euro 2012 Qualifiers Group A-D Preview

Group A

1800 CET: Azerbaijan – Belgium

Azerbaijan have had a largely forgettable qualifying campaign thus far, picking up only one victory in Group A against Turkey, and needing a near miracle to reach the finals. Their last meeting with the Belgians ended with a heavy 4-1 defeat, and coach Berti Vogts must be hoping for a better performance from his team this time around.

With Germany having established an insurmountable lead in Group A with a perfect 21 points from seven games, the race for the runners-up spot takes centre stage. Belgium sit precariously in second place on 11 points, only one point ahead of Turkey. With only three games remaining for them in Group A, the pressure is on Belgium to emerge from tomorrow’s encounter with a comfortable three points.

1900 CET: Turkey - Kazakhstan

Guus Hiddink’s men may view this match-up as a straightfoward three points, given that they soundly defeated Kazakhstan 3-0 during the opening round of qualifying. Crucially, Turkey hold a game in hand over Belgium for the runners-up spot in Group A, and will be looking to press home that advantage against their Turkish opponents tomorrow while gaining a boost to their goal difference in the process.

Kazakhstan have been in dire straits during qualifying, with a lone win against Azerbaijan representing their only points in Group A so far. They will be looking to keep the score respectable against Turkey, to at least ensure that they do not suffer the embarrassment of finishing last in the group.

Group B

1800 CET: Russia – Macedonia

With Russia, Slovakia and the Republic of Ireland level on 13 points in Group B, Russia will know that there is no room for slip-ups against Macedonia. Dick Advocaat’s men are also level with the Irish with a plus-five goal difference, and will be looking to tomorrow’s match as a chance to considerably improve on that tally.

Macedonia started Group B in decent form, picking up four points from their opening three games. Since then they have been in freefall, losing their last three matches, including two against the Irish. With their hopes for qualification hanging by a thread, John Toshack will be eager for his team to defy the bookmakers and pull off a shock victory tomorrow.

1800 CET: Andorra – Armenia

Andorra’s Group B campaign has been as close to futility as one can get, with six defeats in six games and only a solitary goal scored. With elimination confirmed, they are purely playing for pride at this point, and should probably be satisfied with avoiding a rout

Armenia still have an outside chance of qualification for next summer’s tournament, sitting fourth on eight points, five behind Russia, Slovakia and the Republic of Ireland. The three-team deadlock at the top of the group may end up working in their favour, but there must be no mistake tomorrow against Group B’s cellar dwellers.

2045 CET: Republic of Ireland – Slovakia

With three teams in Group B on 13 points, Ireland’s lead at the top is minute, ahead of Russia only on goals scored. With every point and goal valuable at this stage, the Irish will be preparing to take all three points, and will look to captain Robbie Keane to add to his five goals in qualifying so far.

Meanwhile, Slovakia sit in third place, behind Russia and Ireland on goal difference. With only six goals from six different scorers in qualification so far, the Slovaks need to improve their attacking potency if they are to stand a chance of making it to the finals in less than a year’s time.

Group C

2045 CET: Slovenia – Estonia

Slovenia have bagged an impressive 11 points from seven games so far, and sit second in Group C. However, Nothern Ireland and Serbia are only two and three points behind respectively, and both teams hold a game in hand. A win here is crucial for Slovenia to maintain their second-placed standing, and put paid to Estonia’s hopes of playing for Poland and Ukraine once and for all.

For Estonia, this game acts as a qualification six-pointer, since a win will see them move onto 10 points, within one of Slovenia. A second-placed finish is still barely within their grasp, but defeat on Friday will open up an insurmountable seven-point gap on the runners-up spot with two games remaining.

Group D

1930 CET: Luxembourg – Romania

Tomorrow’s hosts Luxembourg have been eliminated from qualifying, and prop up Group D with a solitary point. The last time these two teams met in qualifying, Romania emerged 3-1 winners, and try as they might, Luxembourg will probably expect something similar this time around.

Romania meanwhile are still in with a shout of progressing from Group D with eight points, four points back of second-placed Belarus but with a game in hand. Victor Piturca and his team will surely be aiming for all three points and a significant boost to their goal difference in order to maintain their chances of qualification, especially since they will face the Belarusians in just over a month’s time.

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02.09. (Fri) 15:30 Venezuela - Argentina

PROBABLE LINE-UPS
Venezuela (4-4-2): 
Romo/Hernandez; Vizcarrondo, Cichero, Rosales, Amorebieta; Rincon, Seijas, Gonzalez, Orozco; Fedor and J. Rondon

Cesar Farias will look to Salomon Rondon to bring his scoring touch in the battle against Argentina, while Nicolas Fedor looks set to join the Malaga man up top.

Argentina (4-3-3) 
Romero; Zabaleta, Demichelis, Otamendi, Rojo; Gonzalez, Mascherano, Alvarez; Messi, Higuain and Di Maria

Alejandro Sabella will go with four in defence with Martin Demichelis making a return to the national side. The Malaga defender has not played for the senior team since last year's 1-0 victory over Ireland. Lionel Messi, as always, will be in the attack, joined by Real Madrid's attacking duo of Gonzalo Higuain and Angel Di Maria.

DID YOU KNOW?

Venezuela finished ahead of Argentina in the 2011 Copa America. Farias' men closed out the tournament in fourth place, falling to Peru in the third place match. Their opposition for Friday were knocked out in the quarter-finals to Uruguay.

Since the tournament, Venezuela have played two games, falling to Spain 3-0 before beating Guatemala 2-0.

Farias became the first coach of Venezuela to guide the country to the semi-finals of a Copa America.

Nine players on the team have never made an appearance in the senior side.

Argentina will play their first game under the former Estudiantes coach, who takes over the reigns of the national team after the dismissal of Sergio Batista, who was fired after failing to lead the team to glory in the Copa America in July.

Messi is now the captain of the squad, replacing Barcelona teammate Javier Mascherano.

Goalkeeper Esteban Andrada is the only player in the team who does not play domestic football in Europe. The talented youngster plays for Lanus of the Argentine first division and may make his first appearance for his country at the senior level.

Another player who may make his first appearance is the highly-rated Ricardo Alvarez, a lanky, creative midfielder who joined Inter from Velez Sarsfield this summer.

Prediction

Venezuela 0-2 Argentina 

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