[Locke]

Another matchday is upon us, and just in time too for us split footie/hockey fans, hopefully we'll have some positive results to looks forward to today!

Matches:

Armenia vs. Slovakia
Kazakhstan vs. Belgium
Hungary vs.San Marino
Andorra vs. Macedonia
Georgia vs. Malta
Cyprus vs. Norway
Czech Republic vs. Scotland
Luxembourg vs. Belarus
Montenegro vs. Switzerland
Serbia vs. Estonia
Austria vs. Azerbaijan
Wales vs. Bulgaria
Moldova vs. Netherlands
Albania vs. Bosnia-Herzogovina
Slovenia vs. Faroe Islands
Northern Ireland vs. Italy
Germany vs. Turkey
Republic of Ireland vs. Russia
Greece vs. Latvia
Portugal vs. Denmark
Spain vs. Lithuania

Games to watch:

Northern Ireland vs. Italy - The Italians should be mindful of the Irish, in my mind this is a very even match, the Irish have been putting up steady results lately and Italy is a pretty fragile team at the moment after underperforming badly at the World Cup. Regardless, this should be a fairly straightforward Italian win, but you never know, the same could have been said about Italy playing against New Zealand.

Czech Republic vs. Scotland - 10 years ago you'd have penciled in a Czech win and moved along. Not so anymore, the Czech form has been round if anything earmarked by sloppy defending and a complete inability to score goals. The youth movement is in full swing for the Czechs but will be enough to get past Scotland who are in pretty decent form earning 4 points from 2 games to top the group for the moment. I'm looking at a draw here or a Scottish win.

Germany vs. Turkey - Normally you'd say that this is a German win as the big German machine rolls over the rest of Europe now as they did in WC qualifying. Its still an important match as Germany and Turkey are the favourites to win the group and they are level on points at the moment. This is the clash between group favourites, so how the points get spread here is going to affect how the rest of the group matches unfold. I expect a German win here, a Turkish win would be a surprise but with Low's tendency to experiment lately its not out of the question. Ballack is still injured until after the New Year.

Republic of Ireland vs. Russia - Oh the potential that would exist if the two halves of Ireland could patch up their differences and make one team. This is the 'good' Ireland in regards to having some of the bigger named players on it like Robbie Keane. This could be the most even game of the bunch, Russia's form is coughing and weezing like a Lada in its prime only scoring 2 goals in 2 matches to Ireland's 4. The Irish currently top their group and the Russians are rated to be the runner's up if not the most serious contenders to win the Group.

Portugal vs. Denmark - Now, this is a big game. The Portuguese have a serious problem with this Danish squad that was a thorn in their side all through WC qualifying both losing and drawing but never beating this Danish team. Couple that with a surprisingly goal filled draw against minnows Cyprus and a loss to Norway means that Portugal's Euro qualifying hopes are in dire straights. This is a huge game for them, and they need a win just to get back up the table.