Slovenia v Poland
International, FIFA World Cup 2010 European (UEFA) Qualifiers Wednesday, 9th September 2009 - Kickoff 19:45

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Slovenia and Poland are locked in a battle for qualification from Group 3 along with Northern Ireland and Slovakia, and Wednesday night's game is essential to the hopes of both nations.

Slovenia (4th) 3-2-2 10:4

Slovenia have been the big surprise in this group, and a win here in Maribor could propel the home side up into second place at the end of the night.

And home form has been good throughout the group with Slovenia beating the top two sides Slovakia (2-1) and Northern Ireland (2-0) here on the way to racking up a 3-1-0 record with NINE goals scored at home.

Bostjan Cesar is out after picking up a kick to his ankle, during Wayne Rooney's "penalty dive" last Saturday.

Possible Slovenia Line-up :
Handanovic
Brecko, Suler, Mavric, Jokic
Radosavljevic, Birsa, Koren, Pecnik
Novakovic, Ljubijankic

Poland (3rd) 3-2-2 19:8

Poland was expected to qualify comfortably, especially after starting the group with two wins and a draw, but recent form has been poor - and the two losses at Slovakia and N.Ireland tell a tale of a side without a solid defence on the road.

Poland have scored a group high 19 goals so far, but 10 of those came in one game last April when Poland absolutely murdered San Marino 10-0.

Poland have several injury problems with Marcin Wasilewski out for up to nine months with a broken leg. Arsenal keeper Lukasz Fabianski has a knee problem while Tomasz Jodlowiec, Lukasz Gargula and Ireneusz Jelen are all injured.

Possible Poland Line-up :
Boruc
Golanski, Zewlakow, Kryznoweck, Dudka
Lewandowski, Obraniak, Murawski, Blaszczykowski, Guerreiro
Brozek

The Betting Verdict

This game is a tough one to call - especially with the number of draws so far in the group.

But with both sides desperate for the victory to claim all three points and chase the top two sides, I feel that the game will be more open than previous fixtures.

I give Slovenia the edge in this match, primarily because of the home advantage, a fact that has been demonstrated with Slovenia picking up TEN points at home so far.

The Statistics :

The Pick :

Slovenia 2-1 Poland

PERCENTAGE ESTIMATE :

Slovenia 41% - DRAW 35% - Poland 24%

FIXED ODDS BETTING :

Take SLOVENIA to win