Switzerlandv Rep of Ireland: With their customary enthusiasm the visiting fans came within a few nervous minutes of drinking Basel's lone Irish bar dry yesterday afternoon. In the national stereotype stakes, however, the Swiss simply won't be beaten.
And so, in a display of characteristic efficiency, a local beer truck rolled into view while only those among the travelling support of a particularly edgy disposition had started to contemplate the horrors of an encounter with daylight.
As the day wore on, the number of Irish around the city had clearly started to swell and by kick-off time this afternoon around 10,000 are expected in the prosperous little border city on the Rhine. Quite how many manage to make it into the St Jakob Park stadium remains to be seen but with tickets said to have been changing hands for €350 by lunchtime yesterday it seems much of the EU's admirable achievements in shifting wealth from Europe's heart to its periphery in the past decade or so may be reversed here in one frantic but hopefully unforgettable weekend.
Those who part with the money will not complain if what they witness in return turns out to be a famous Irish victory. Such a win, though, would be the best result the Republic have managed in a competitive away match for more than a decade and a half and it will not be easy to come by against Group 10 leaders who need a point themselves to be certain of a top-two finish and most likely three if they are to avoid the perils of a play-off.
After almost a year in the job and with the team still unbeaten in nine games since he took over, Brian Kerr inspires huge confidence, though it is worth remembering that even under his direction the side was not good enough to beat either Albania in Tirana or Russia in Dublin. The Swiss may not be the greatest of sides but a victory here should be harder still to eke out.
Kerr needs not only to get the line-up right but for every one of the players selected to perform strongly this afternoon. He is not helped, however, by the fact that having failed to make it through Thursday's training session due to what has turned out to be a cold, Matt Holland missed yesterday's run-out completely, the Charlton midfielder being left behind to rest in bed.
The 29-year-old will, insists Kerr, be fit to captain the side but even then doubts about his ability to get through the 90 minutes may well shape other aspects of the starting line-up.
With longer-standing doubts about his own stamina, Mark Kinsella's prospects of making the team will surely be damaged if the management feel his inclusion might oblige them to replace the entire central midfield.
Overall, though, Kerr has almost a full-strength squad to choose from and even in central midfield there are decent options with Lee Carsley and Colin Healy both firmly in contention to start.
Carsley has featured in every one of Kerr's competitive games, though usually on the right. If, as expected, Damien Duff plays there, however, with Kevin Kilbane on the other flank, the Everton man's battling qualities may earn him his 30th international cap.
Recent club form suggests that David Connolly is the favourite to partner Robbie Keane up front but if club form is the only guide then Steve Finnan's lack of familiarity with the left-back role would not prevent him filling the vacancy that will presumably be created by John O'Shea's switch to central defence.
The Liverpool full back would help provide a firmer base from which Ireland, and particularly Kilbane, could press forward. But the fact Finnan has had only a couple of brief stints in friendlies on the left may mean the team benefits once more from Ian Harte's set-pieces while enduring the vulnerability on the left entailed by his defensive failings.
For the Swiss, meanwhile, the news Hakan Yakin is likely to start has boosted confidence and shifted attention from manager Köbi Kuhn's other difficulties. Though the official line is that internal squabbles have been resolved, Liverpool's Stephane Henchoz still looks set to start on the bench, his troubled relationship with fellow central defender Murat Yakin a lingering concern.
The Swiss will hope Patrick Muller's inclusion will bring some harmony although it will address neither Yakin's lack of pace nor left back Bruno Berner's vulnerability under pressure.
If really fit, then Hakan Yakin certainly possesses the quality to cause the Irish difficulties in his role behind the team's strikers.
Up front, however, Alexander Frei rarely starts at club level while Stephane Chapuisat is an increasingly erratic performer.
The win that would guarantee Ireland a place in the play-offs and perhaps even secure entry to the finals is a tall but not insurmountable order.
Two years ago Basel fell silent when Swiss hopes of a place at the World Cup were ended by a Yugoslav win here. The home fans could yet be left just as disappointed this evening. Although if they do, don't expect the place to go as quiet this time.
POSSIBLE TEAMS
IRELAND: Given (Newcastle United); Carr (Tottenham Hotspur), Breen (West Ham United), O'Shea (Manchester United), Finnan (Liverpool); Duff (Chelsea), Carsley (Everton), Holland (Ipswich Town), Kilbane (Everton); Keane (Tottenham Hotspur), Connolly (West Ham).
SWITZERLAND: Stiel; Haas, M Yakin, Muller, Berner; Huggel, Vogel, Wicky; H Yakin; Frei, Chapuisat.
