Group 4/Switzerland v Republic of Ireland: A year ago it was Brian Kerr who was here in Basel wrestling with problems on several fronts as he sought to field as strong a side as possible for what was a make-or-break encounter with the Swiss writes Emmet Malone in Basel.

This evening it is Kobi Kuhn who looks to be in the more difficult position as injuries, retirements and loss of form take their toll on the home side's prospects in one of this World Cup qualifying group's key encounters.

Having already lost Jorg Stiel, Stephane Chapuisat and Fabio Celestini to retirement in the wake of Euro 2004, the veteran Swiss coach must also cope this evening without Alexander Frei who serves the third game of a three-match ban for spitting at Steven Gerrard in Portugal.

Christoph Spycher - the versatile left-sided midfielder who Kuhn would like to use as a buffer against Damien Duff this evening - is doubtful due to a thigh strain while the experienced Raphael Wicky may miss out because of a calf strain.

And questions about the form of players are just as widespread. Switzerland's regular right back Bernt Haas has been struggling to get his game at West Brom since the start of the season, while one half of the home team's usually impressive central defensive partnership, Patrick Muller, looked far short of his best against the Faroe Islands - possibly because the timing of the Spanish season means he has had just one competitive game with his new club, Real Mallorca.

"New" 33-year-old goalkeeper Pascal Zuberbuhler stepped out of the international shadows with Stiel's departure, but there is a general feeling amongst local observers he is not quite good enough for this sort of stage, a suspicion that seemed to be backed up by his failure to make it in the Bundesliga with Bayer Leverkusen where his tendency to make unforced errors as well as his discomfort under crosses curtailed his career.

Hakan Yakin's problems have been mounting for some time with the Swiss side's most gifted player presently rotting away in the reserves at Stuttgart where he is third in the club's pecking order for his preferred role just behind the front two.

Not surprisingly, he is keen to get away, but his club are anxious to recoup the €5 million they paid Basel for him while most interested parties prefer the idea of a loan deal. A move to Rangers collapsed recently when it emerged a different agent was negotiating with Besiktas on behalf of the player.

Up front, Alexandre Rey is well chuffed with his lot having gone from fifth-choice striker for Switzerland before the summer to first-team regular due to circumstances almost entirely outside of his control. The 31-year-old hadn't featured for the Swiss in three years prior to Saturday's 6-0 win over the Faroes, but his hat-trick in the game means he is more or less assured of his place tonight.

He is not, however, expected to fare quite so well against Ireland's better defence and much will depend on the team's new wunderkid, Johan Vonlanten.

The 18-year-old is not quite a complete stranger to all of the Irish players having scored for the Swiss under-19s in Dublin a couple of years back and then again for the under-21s on his debut at that level in Kilkenny.

That latter appearance came after he had almost purchased himself a one-way ticket to international oblivion by declining a place on the bench for an under-21 game against the Czech Republic, informing the coach if he did not start the game he would prefer to watch it somewhere else on television.

He went on to publicly consider switching international allegiance to the country of his birth, Colombia, something that prompted a wave of calls for his expulsion from the Swiss national set-up.

But there was no doubting his talent and after a late call-up to the squad for the European championships he ended up becoming the youngest player in the history of the tournament finals to score when he got a goal against France on his first competitive start.

All in all, though, it is hard to avoid the conclusion that Ireland are unlikely to have a better opportunity to secure at least an away draw against major qualification rivals for quite some time to come.