Tuesday, 11 September 2012

O'Neill Changes for Luxembourg


Northern Ireland manager Michael O'Neill says he will make changes to his starting line-up as he contemplates a more attacking formation for the World Cup qualifier against Luxembourg.

Shane Ferguson missed the 2-0 defeat in Russia through injury but has strong claims to replace Corry Evans in midfield after returning to the squad.

Dean Shiels could be preferred to Jamie Ward as Kyle Lafferty's strike partner.

Ryan McGivern may challenge Craig Cathcart in the left full-back role.

McGivern's more attacking instincts could earn him the nod over the Blackpool defender as O'Neill plans for a game from which his side must surely take three points if they are to retain realistic hopes of competing for qualification for the 2014 finals in Brazil.

Shiels' omission from the side to face Russia was something of a surprise given his impressive performances in the friendly internationals under O'Neill, but the Rangers player is likely to feature from the start this time.

Ferguson also produced creditable displays in the matches against Norway and Finland, with the Newcastle midfielder opening the scoring against the Finns at Windsor Park in August.

Roy Carroll is certain to hold onto the goalkeeper's jersey given Lee Camp's withdrawal for "personal reasons" while Premier League trio Aaron Hughes, Gareth McAuley and Jonny Evans are set to complete the defence.

Evans is fit after recovering from an ankle knock.

Evans had ankle surgery in the summer and was in some pain during the game in Moscow on Friday.

The 25-year-old limped off at half-time but, despite admitting he had been in discomfort from almost the start of the game, he went on to play the full 90 minutes.

The Manchester United player declared himself fit following a squad training session on Sunday.

Having lost their opening World Cup qualifying match, the pressure is on Northern Ireland to take maximum points at home to the lowest seeded nation in Group F.

Although Luxembourg were the lowest seeds when the Group F draw was made, they are now ranked 23 places higher than Northern Ireland at 106th in the FIFA standings.

Luxembourg began their campaign with a 2-1 defeat by Portugal, having taken the lead against the Euro 2012 semi-finalists.

"When you look at the group we have you could say the perception is that this will be our easiest game, but you'd only need to have a conversation with the Portuguese and their manager to know it's not going to be straightforward," warned O'Neill on Monday.

"I wouldn't say it's as easy a game as you'll get. If you look at Luxembourg, you'll see in recent times their games have been very close.

"In their last few games they've been beaten 2-1 by Georgia, 1-0 by Switzerland, they beat Macedonia 2-1.

"The biggest thing against Portugal was their work-rate and their willingness to work.

"They played with a 4-5-1 formation, had a lot of energy in midfield and scored a great goal from a wide area.

"Going ahead gave them a massive boost and they worked very hard for each other - I've no doubt they'll do the same on Tuesday night."


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