France to gamble on strikers

France v Switzerland: France will be relying on the goalscoring talents of Thierry Henry and David Trezeguet when they try to get their World Cup qualifying campaign back on track against Switzerland tonight.Stade de France, today, 8.0On TV: Setanta, Eurosport

Both players have been struggling with injuries but look set to start the crucial Stade de France encounter after returning to training this week. Henry has not played since picking up a calf injury against Bayern Munich on February 9th, while Trezeguet has been out with an ankle problem for two weeks.

But coach Raymond Domenech, who will wait until the last moment before confirming his starting line-up, appears ready to take a gamble on his first-choice attackers as Les Bleus search for their first home win in nearly 10 months.

Domenech has been able to align the Arsenal and Juventus strikers only once in his seven matches in charge. That was against Sweden last month, when Henry produced a perfect cross for Trezeguet to head home the equaliser in a 1-1 draw.

The Henry-Trezeguet alliance failed to bring France glory in Portugal last summer, but Domenech is convinced they remain a deadly partnership. "They work well together," he said. "David is a pure goalscorer who stays in the centre, while Titi is more of a passer who likes to drift wide."

The statistics bear Domenech out. Henry and Trezeguet, who first played in tandem at Monaco in 1996, have hit the net 29 times in the 35 internationals they have played together, scoring 19 goals between them in 2003 alone. Domenech picked the duo for the first time in 1999 when he was in charge of the under-21s. France beat Ukraine 4-0 on that occasion, with Henry setting up three of Trezeguet's four goals.

France desperately need the partnership to flourish again tonight. They have managed two goals in their last five home matches, all of which have been drawn, and will be left in an extremely vulnerable position in Group Four should they fail to beat the Swiss.

The demanding French public, who have taken to whistling their team in recent months, are set to fill the stands after leaving them largely empty for recent friendlies.

Patrick Vieira, who helped France to a 3-1 win over Switzerland at Euro 2004, was in a positive mood. "I'm convinced we'll win," said the France captain. "They were a good side (at Euro 2004), although we felt there was a big gap between us and them."

The 28-year-old will be partnered by Marseille's Benoit Pedretti in central midfield, while Vikash Dhorasoo of AC Milan is charged with the task of filling the void left by Zinedine Zidane on the left side. Lyon's Sylvain Wiltord is set to play on the right.

Domenech has been forced to reshuffle his defence following an injury to Sebastien Squillaci. Newcastle's Jean-Alain Boumsong could partner Gael Givet in the centre, with William Gallas on the left and Willy Sagnol on the right. Fabien Barthez, meanwhile, keeps his place despite admitting this week he was becoming disillusioned with football and is reluctant to travel to Israel for Wednesday's qualifier because of security fears.

Switzerland are three points behind the leading trio, but they have a game in hand. "Our aim is to try and get a point," said PSV Eindhoven midfielder Johann Vogel.

Jakob Kuhn, the Switzerland coach, is without the Yakin brothers, Murat and Hakin, who are injured and suspended respectively, while forward Johan Vonlanthen is unlikely to start as he is not playing regularly at Brescia.

Kuhn will be hoping Alexander Frei's recent goalscoring form continues. The Rennes striker has netted five in his last five Ligue 1 matches and is the top scorer in France, with 14 strikes.