WCQ Preview: Europe - Group 8

Cyprus - Italy

All eyes will be on this game as Italy begin the defence of their World Cup in Lanarca on Saturday night. It's a game which, in theory, should be straightforward for La Nazionale. Cyprus are ranked 63 places below the Azzurri in the world rankings, so Marcello Lippi will be eagerly looking to win his first competitive game since returning to the helm in June.

The coach is keen to guide Italy to a fourth World Cup trophy and he will delighted to welcome back his captain and leader Fabio Cannavaro, who missed Euro 2008 through injury. Now, the Napoli-born defender is raring to go and his return will boost the side’s chances of success massively. They hope to get off to the right start against a Cyprus team who are a potential banana skin.

Luca Toni has also been recalled to the squad and will be fighting against in-form Alberto Gilardino for a starting role. The Fiorentina man has been outstanding for his club and is ready to repeat that form for his country. Gila previously warned, though, that he was going to fight hard to keep his place under Lippi - a tactic which appears to be working.

In their last game, a 2-2 friendly draw with Austria, the Italians looked poor against mediocre opposition. The excuse? That Italy are traditionally bad in August. However, it’s September now and a decent result on Saturday is needed if they are to avoid being slated by the unforgiving Italian media.

The Cypriots are a small fish in the giant footballing ocean and have never qualified for the final stages of a major tournament. Coach angelos Anasasiadis will be putting all his faith in Yainnis Okkas, hoping that the Celta Vigo striker will be on fire against La Nazionale.

However, Italy are hoping to secure their passage to South Africa 2010 as soon as possible and there can only be one winner in this group 8 opening tie.

Georgia – Ireland

Another Italian who will be under the spotlight: former Azzurri coach Giovanni Trapattoni, who will attempt to lead Ireland to their first major finals since World Cup 2002. That tournament will be remembered for the bust up between Roy Keane and then-coach Mick McCarthy. There's little possibility of a player-manager clash this time, though, as Trapattoni is in no mood to tolerate any bad attitude from his players. The Irish have an experienced squad at their disposal and are likely to have a good qualifying campaign.

Liverpool’s Robbie Keane will be hoping to fire his side to victory in Mainz. The game will be played on neutral ground in Germany because of the recent political problems in Georgia, which have distracted the football team from matters on the pitch.

The Republic will be full of enthusiasm going into the game as they know that a top two finish is realistic. As expected, Georgia are the underdogs, but they'll be looking to put any recent domestic turbulence behind them. They are fired up and ready to fight as they dream of shock 2010 qualification. Milan defender Kakha Kaladze will be ready to lead his side from the back. The Georgians have a great reputation of causing major upsets. Indeed, they beat Scotland to effectively prevent them from making Euro 2008.

Thus, Ireland will be wary of Klaus Toppmoller’s unpredictable charges. The German coach will be best remembered for leading Bayer Leverkusen to the 2002 Champions League final. Whether he can lead Georgia to South Africa, though, is a different story. It's a long and winding road, but he has time to do it. The only thing he doesn't have is a second chance.

Montenegro – Bulgaria

Montenegro are newcomers to the football world. The Montenegrin FA was founded by former Milan great Dejan Savecevic after World Cup 2006 and they are one of the newest footballing nations recognised by FIFA.

Although they are relatively unheralded of following their break-away from Serbia, the team has a host of young players which ply their trade with some of Europe’s top sides. Roma’s Mirko Vucinic will be looking to grab all the headlines as the prolific hit-man tries to get the small nation off to a big start against a resilient Bulgaria side. Fiorentina’s Stevan Jovetic is also ready for action. The young midfielder has shown his talents and he is full of determination, looking to start his international career positively.

Coach Zoran Fillipovic has plenty of experience and he is likely to push his side all the way. Miracles don’t happen too often in football, but keep an eye out on Montenegro as their multi-talented side have got what it takes to be the thorn in Bulgaria’s side.

Dimitar Berbatov’s team look tough and solid and are clear favourites to beat their opponents in Podgorica. They just missed out on Euro 2008 and they will be looking to take the the negatives from that failure and turn them into positives as they try to realise their World Cup ambitions.

Berbatov will be in great mood following his mega transfer from Tottenham to Manchester United and is likely to lead the charge from the front. Dimitar Penev’s men missed out on Germany 2006 and the coach is hoping the road to South Africa is a little smoother. On Paper, the Bulgarians are favourites to win. Stilian and Martin Petrov will provde solidity in the middle and former Juventus star Valeri Bojinov is likely to provide support up front for Berbatov. It's a tricky away game, but they should have enough in their locker to come away with three vital points.