BBC Sport

 

Winger Miroslav Stoch is tipped to start for Slovakia after recovering from a minor knee injury.

Stanislav Sestak was used as a midfielder against New Zealand but is expected to play up front on Sunday, with Erik Jendrisek dropping to the bench.

Paraguay coach Gerardo Martino is likely to deploy a three-man attack, which could mean Roque Santa Cruz starts. The Manchester City striker, who has a muscle problem, came off the bench against Italy.

Aureliano Torres is set to drop out of the starting XI, while midfielder Jonathan Santana is struggling with a thigh problem.

One booking from suspension: Strba (Slovakia), Victor Caceres (Paraguay)

MATCH PREVIEW

Both these sides let a lead slip in their opening game, although of the two teams Slovakia will be the most disappointed, having led against Group F outsiders New Zealand until the third minute of injury time. While the Slovaks claimed their first-ever World Cup point in Rustenburg, coach Vladimir Weiss described the draw as a "small sporting tragedy".

Slovakia enjoyed plenty of possession against the All Whites but they struggled to break down Ricki Herbert's men, who defended in numbers and looked to mount occasional attacks from long balls and set pieces. It was a frustrating experience for the Slovaks, but they should at least be well prepared for the Paraguayans, who were similarly unambitious against Italy.

The South Americans could have beaten the world champions had it not been for a goalkeeping error, but they offered little going forward. Paraguay's goal, a header from Wigan-bound defender Antolin Alcaraz, was their only effort on target in 90 minutes against the Azzurri.

Don't expect coach Gerardo Martin to go for broke against Slovakia: "I don't think we need to win our next two games - draws may be sufficient to progress," he says.

MATCH FACTS
Head-to-head

- The two sides have never previously met.

- Paraguay faced World Cup debutants at the last two World Cups. They beat Trinidad & Tobago 2-0 in 2006 and defeated Slovenia 3-1 at the 2002 tournament.

SLOVAKIA

- Robert Vittek's goal against the All Whites was his 11th competitive goal for Slovakia - only former Middlesbrough striker Szilard Nemeth has scored more (13).

- They kept only three clean sheets in qualifying - against San Marino, Northern Ireland and Poland.

- Slovakia's last goalless draw was against Russia in 2005. Their last 47 games have produced at least one goal.

PARAGUAY

- Gerardo Martino's men kept nine clean sheets in qualifying for South Africa, and won more games than both Argentina and Brazil.

- The 3-1 win against Slovenia in 2002 is Paraguay's only victory in their last 12 World Cup games against European opposition.

- Utility player Denis Caniza could win his 99th cap against New Zealand. If he does he will be playing in his fourth World Cup. He is the only member of the Paraguay squad who took part at France '98.

MATCH OFFICIALS

Referee: Eddy Maillet (Seychelles)

Assistants: Evarist Menkouande (Cameroon) and Bechir Hassani (Tunisia)

Fourth official:Joel Aguilar (El Salvador)

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Injured Italy keeper Gianluigi Buffon will be replaced by Cagliari's Federico Marchetti. Buffon is suffering from a herniated disc in his back, and Italy are unsure when he will be able to return.

The Azzurri are tipped to switch to the 4-4-2 formation that Marcello Lippi used in the second half against Paraguay. Either Antonio Di Natale or Vincenzo Iaquinta will partner Alberto Gilardino up front. Playmaker Andrea Pirlo remains sidelined by a calf problem.

New Zealand midfielder Tim Brown is expected to be available after recovering from shoulder surgery. He could replace veteran defender Ivan Vicelich, who filled in as a holding midfielder in the 1-1 draw with Slovakia on Tuesday.

One booking from suspension: Camoranesi (Italy), Lochhead & Reid (both New Zealand)

MATCH PREVIEW

The World Cup has already produced surprise defeats for Spain, France and Germany - could defending champions Italy be the next heavyweight to hit the canvas? The Azzurri were unimpressive in their draw against Paraguay on Monday, when they only avoided defeat thanks to an error from Paraguayan goalkeeper Justo Villar.

In contrast, Group F outsiders New Zealand will be on a high after Winston Reid's injury-time equaliser against Slovakia gave the All Whites their first-ever World Cup point.

To make matters worse for Italy they lost goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon to injury, with a herniated disc in his back forcing him off at half-time. The Juventus star has won 102 caps - his replacement, Cagliari's Federico Marchetti, has played just six times for the Azzurri and only made his Serie A debut two years ago. His only previous competitive start was Italy's final qualifier against Cyprus, when nothing was at stake.

Marchetti replaced Marco Amelia as Buffon's understudy last year following Amelia's disastrous display in the 4-3 win against New Zealand. The All Whites led three times in the friendly match, staged in Pretoria as a warm-up for the Confederations Cup. The Kiwis constantly troubled Italy with long balls and set pieces, and coach Ricki Herbert will ask for more of the same in Nelspruit.

MATCH FACTS
Head-to-head

- The only previous meeting between Italy and New Zealand was last year's friendly, which the Azzurri won 4-3.

-The Azzurri have yet to win a match in 2010. They have drawn with Paraguay, Switzerland and Cameroon and lost to Mexico.

ITALY

- Marcello Lippi's team have yet to win a match in 2010. They have drawn with Paraguay, Switzerland and Cameroon and lost to Mexico.

- Ten of Italy's last 15 World Cup goals have come from set pieces.

- The last time the Azzurri brought a goalkeeper off the bench at a World Cup was in 1994, when they went on to reach the final. Gianluca Pagliuca was sent off against Norway in the group stage, with Roberto Baggio making way for replacement keeper Luca Marchegiani.

NEW ZEALAND

- Their victory against Serbia in May is the only time in the last eight years that the All Whites have beaten a country in the top 50 of the Fifa rankings.

- New Zealand lost all three games on their only previous World Cup appearance in 1982, losing 5-2 to Scotland, 3-0 to the USSR and 4-0 against Brazil.

- Three squad members have played at non-league level in England. Leo Bertos had a stint with Worksop, James Bannatyne turned out for Yeading and Shane Smeltz had spells with Mansfield, AFC Wimbledon and Halifax.

MATCH OFFICIALS

Referee: Carlos Batres (Guatemala)

Assistants: Leonel Leal (Costa Rica) and Carlos Pastrana (Honduras)

Fourth official: Koman Coulibaly (Mali)

BBC Sport

 

Ivory Coast captain Didier Drogba will return to the starting line-up following his return from an arm injury and will take the place of Aruna Dindane. Drogba came off the bench against Portugal just 11 days after breaking a bone in his arm.

Brazil will name the same team that beat North Korea in their opening match. Goalkeeper Julio Cesar is set to win his 50th cap.

One booking from suspension: Ramires (Brazil) & Ronaldo (Portugal).

MATCH PREVIEW

The trouble with managing Brazil is that merely winning matches is not good enough, its how you win them that matters. The Brazilian press require no encouragement to crank up their feud with Dunga and they were quick to lambast his side's lacklustre performance in beating North Korea in their opening match. Pre-World Cup predictions that the Selecao are lacking the players with the flair and invention to break down teams seemed to ring true at Ellis Park.

One of Dunga's biggest worries continue to centre on the form of Kaka. He flitted around for 77 minutes against the Koreans, but looked a shadow of the player that won the 2007 World Footballer of the Year award. Fortunately Robinho impressed and the seven chances he created was the most by any player in the opening round of matches.

As for the Ivory Coast, they are ready to unleash their Drog of War. Their captain, Didier Drogba, starts the match as his miraculous recovery from a broken arm continues. They were neat and tidy against Portugal and their defence, that has kept eight clean sheets in their last 16 matches, had few problems shackling Cristiano Ronaldo.

The players have praised the impact coach, Sven-Goran Eriksson, has had on the organisation of the team: "We are so happy to get Eriksson as our manager because now when we play we are more solid and more compact," said Emmanuel Eboue.

MATCH STATS
Head-to-head

- Taking into account games played by West Germany, plus those by the Yugoslavia or Serbia and Montenegro this is the seventh time they have met at the World Cup. As a result, this becomes the joint most-played fixture at the World Cup along with Brazil v Sweden. Germany lead by four wins to one.

- Overall, this is the sides' 28th meeting and Germany lead by 16 wins to seven. The last time Germany lost this fixture was in May 1973.

Brazil

- Maicon had 129 touches against North Korea, which was the most by a player in the first round of matches.

- Brazil have won 23 of their 24 matches against African opposition, scoring 65 goals and conceding just seven. Their only loss was a 1-0 defeat to Nigeria at the 2003 Confederations Cup.

- They have never lost a World Cup game to a side outside Europe or South America.

- Brazil have lost just one of their last 27 internationals (v Bolivia).

Ivory Coast

- Ivory Coast scored an average of 3.2 goals per game with Didier Drogba in their side in the qualifiers for the 2010 World Cup, compared to 1.9 goals per game without him.

- The Ivory Coast have kept eight clean sheets in their last 16 competitive matches

MATCH OFFICIALS

Referee Stephane Lannoy (France)

Assistants Eric Dansault and Laurent Ugo (France)

Fourth official Subkhiddin Mohd Salleh (Malaysia)