Rep of Ireland v Israel Lansdowne Road, 7.30Reflecting this week on the permutations in a group his side leads but is in reality at the mercy of others, Raymond Domenech suggested a win for Israel in Dublin tonight would be the worst possible result for the French.
It would be a little nightmarish for the Irish too, but it seems an unlikely outcome to what is a sell-out game at Lansdowne Road - or did at least until the French coach, for whom just about everything else has gone wrong in recent times, voiced his concerns.
The greatest setback suffered to date by the one-time hot qualification favourites was the draw with Israel in Paris, where the home side dominated, but failed to open up a determined opposition.
Avraham Grant's team took a share of the points thanks to a combination of do-or-die defending, sheer luck and some dreadful finishing by their hosts. It's the sort of elusive mix they are likely to have to reproduce if they are to extend the remarkable run of draws between the four more highly rated teams in a group that seems still very much up for grabs.
With a trip to Switzerland, as well as two games against the Faroe Islands to come, the visitors believe a draw tonight would put them in a strong position to achieve at least a top-two finish.
They have held all three of their main qualification rivals at home, so their chances of adding another point here to their current tally of 10 can't be entirely dismissed, but it would represent a significant blow to an Irish side that even the Israelis freely admit looks comfortably the better on paper.
In Tel Aviv Brian Kerr's side dominated for long spells after scoring, but fell victim to their own growing uncertainty in the second half and rarely threatened to turn their greater share of the possession into the 2-0 lead that would have made victory a virtual certainty.
The opening goal may prove harder to come by this evening, but assuming the hosts do manage to break down their opponents, it is almost unthinkable that the Irish would again allow the win to slip through their fingers.
Grant's players have shown a knack for coming from behind when, as Kerr said this week, it's "put up to them", but with the likely introduction of Andy Reid to the right flank giving Kerr's side a brighter, more positive look about it, there should be enough attacking options available to the Republic to ensure the visitors are kept on the back foot.
Avi Yehiel, a 25-year-old debutant, is set to be handed the unenviable task of man-marking Damien Duff, while Abas Suan is the most likely candidate to provide protection to what will be a five-man defence.
Up front there will probably be just one man, Yaniv Katan, with Yossi Benayoun and Avi Nimni looking to get forward to support him when the opportunity arises.
If Ireland can take firm control of midfield, however, the Israelis should find it difficult to pose a serious offensive threat other than, as Kerr noted yesterday, by using their speed on the break or shooting from long range - in the hope perhaps that Shay Given is as unlucky as in Tel Aviv, where he was badly unsighted for the strike that produced the late equaliser.
Both managers have important choices to make in terms of their starting line-up, but Kerr's looks to be limited to the positions where he is without the players who picked up suspensions in the first meeting between the two sides.
In central midfield either Graham Kavanagh or Mattie Holland will come in for Roy Keane to partner Kevin Kilbane and while the Wigan player looks the closer to being a straight swap, the manager appeared, at yesterday's training session, to be leaning toward the Charlton skipper.
At full back Stephen Carr must be replaced and the job will not fall to Steve Finnan, who was officially ruled out yesterday.
Steven Reid is being widely tipped for the job, but again Kerr may prefer the more experienced option, with John O'Shea slipping from the left to the right of the defence and Ian Harte returning for his first competitive start since the 2-0 defeat in Basel more than 18 months ago.
More, one hopes, will depend on the performance of the attacking players within the team. Duff, Reid and the two strikers look to possess a little too much for the Israeli defence if they find their form.
If not it could be a long, difficult and ultimately disappointing night, one that deals a significant though not fatal blow to the team's qualification hopes. Still, the French will bounce back . . . they always do.
PROBABLE LINE-UPS
REPUBLIC OF IRELAND: Given (Newcastle Utd); O'Shea (Manchester Utd), Cunningham (Birmingham City), O'Brien (Newcastle Utd), Harte (Levante); Reid (Tottenham), Holland (Charlton Ath), Kilbane (Everton), Duff (Chelsea); Morrison (Birmingham City), Keane (Tottenham).
ISRAEL: Awat; Gershon; Yehiel, Benado, Saban, Keisi; Suan; Nimni, Tal, Benayoun; Katan.
