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From the British & Irish perspectives, the key groups on the weekend will be Groups 4 and 6, with the Republic of Ireland and England still having work to do to achieve their goal of Germany next June. Ireland's task is made all the more complicated by the fact that their destiny is not entirely in their own hands. Ireland must win both their matches - away to Cyprus, at home to Switzerland - but also rely on Switzerland not beating France at home on Saturday night, for Ireland just to make it to the second-place playoff. France will beat Cyprus to reach at least 19pts, Israel will beat the Faroe Islands to reach 18. The Swiss sit on 16pts with two tough games, for Ireland it's all or nothing trailing behind on 13. England have plenty in their favour despite lying second in Group 6. They finish their qualifying with two home games, and the latter opponent Poland has effectively qualified - even if the Poles lose, they will progress as one of the best-placed runners-up. An English victory over Austria would just about assure them of qualification, but the Czech Republic could complicate the equation with four points or more from their two matches. Scotland have a small chance of making the playoffs from Group 5.
Scotland must win both games and realistically pray for Belarus to beat Norway in Minsk on Wednesday. A draw will not be good enough as Norway hold the edge on goal difference, with their head-to-head results being equal. Two other top of the table clashes take place on Saturday but both have a sense of fait accompli about them. The Netherlands travel to the Czech Republic with a four-point lead in Group 1 – a loss would still leave them with the upper hand as they have a much easier task in the final game (at home to Macedonia versus away to Finland). Croatia host Sweden, trailing in Group 8 by just one point, but with both teams expected to have facile victories on Wednesday, the runner-up is long odds-on to progress automatically anyway. Denmark v Greece has plenty at stake. With the Ukraine untouchable at the top of Group 2, both these nations are chasing Turkey for second place. Denmark need a miracle – win both their matches and rely on Albania gaining at least a point at home to Turkey. Greece must defeat Denmark or they will be cheering madly for Albania as well.The pick of Wednesday’s other matches will be Slovakia versus Russia and Serbia & Montenegro against Bosnia-Herzegovina. Slovakia hold the balance of power in terms of home advantage and a better goal difference which will only come into play in the case of a draw. A 1-1 result the first time around means this one will be very tight. The latter match doesn’t need a World Cup qualifier for tension, as these neighbours do battle again. The Serbians have conceded only one goal for the entire campaign, but any slip-up in this pair of matches and they could miss out entirely. If Bosnia-Herzegovina manage to win on the road, that will give them the winning edge in terms of head-to-head points and push them past Serbia and Montenegro. If Spain win in Belgium on Saturday, that will further complicate matters. To support all the action Betfair will be turning 15 games in-play over the weekend (including a game apiece from African and South America). We’ll also show the best of action in the final round of qualifying next week. To check which games will be in-play go to www.betfair.tv |
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