Cyprus v Slovakia: Slovakia face make-or-break trips to Cyprus and the Republic of Ireland, but defender Marek Cech is pessimistic after their results last autumn.
It looked good in September when Slovakia began with an impressive 6-1 home win against Cyprus, but four days later the Czech Republic crossed the border and triumphed 3-0. Slovakia again hit form the following month with a 5-1 victory in Wales, only to return home and lose 4-1 to Germany that midweek.
Ján Kocian's side now trail the Germans and Czechs by four points, and perhaps only a maximum haul from Nicosia today and Dublin on Wednesday would put fourth-placed Slovakia back into contention.
"It is looking very difficult as we have the Czech Republic and Germany in our group," Cech said. "They have got in front and we have dropped points against both of them so it's going to be very difficult to qualify. It would be great to go to Cyprus, get a victory, and start a winning run."
There is an extra incentive for Slovakia - if they can turn their results around, they might just be in the hunt by the time their penultimate fixture, a trip to the Czech Republic, comes around in November.
