Preview: Montenegro v Wales

by Setanta staff , 02 September 2010

Wales will look to Craig Bellamy and Gareth Bale to show their club form when they take on Montenegro in their Euro 2012 opener on Friday.


John Toshack's men travel to Podgorica on the back of a morale-boosting 5-1 win over Luxembourg, but a host of players are missing, with Aaron Ramsey, Jack Collison, Brian Stock, Andrew Crofts, Danny Gabbidon and Darcy Blake all on the injured lost.

Fulham midfielder Simon Davies, meanwhile, recently announced his retirement from international football, leaving captain and Cardiff City new boy Bellamy and Bale - who has been flying for Spurs - as the star turns in Toshack's panel.

The manager is boosted by the return of James Collins to defence, where he should partner Ashley Williams. Wayne Hennessey should start in goal, ahead of Boaz Myhill, with Sam Ricketts and Chris Gunter in the full back roles.

Joe Ledley, Dave Edwards and David Vaughan are expected to man the midfield, with Bale and Bellamy doing all the attacking from wide in support of Millwall's Steve Morison, who has started the season in great goalscoring form.

Fiorentina striker Stevan Jovetic is missing for Montenegro in a major blow to their hopes. He will be out for six months after suffering a cruciate knee injury.

However, in Roma striker Mirko Vucinic and Sporting Lisbon midfielder Simon Vukcevic they do have real quality and will expect to start with a home win against Wales in a group that also includes England, Bulgaria and Switzerland.

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Pos
Team P W D L +/- PTS
1.
Man City
25
19
3
3
45
60
2.
Man Utd
25
18
4
3
36
58
3.
Tottenham
25
16
5
4
24
53
4.
Arsenal
25
13
4
8
13
43
5.
Chelsea
25
12
7
6
13
43
6.
Newcastle
25
12
6
7
0
42
7.
Liverpool
25
10
9
6
6
39
8.
Norwich
25
9
8
8
-4
35
9.
Sunderland
25
9
6
10
8
33
10.
Everton
25
9
6
10
-1
33
11.
Swansea
25
7
9
9
-4
30
12.
Fulham
25
7
9
9
-5
30
13.
Stoke
25
8
6
11
-14
30
14.
West Brom
25
8
5
12
-6
29
15.
Aston Villa
25
6
10
9
-5
28
16.
QPR
25
5
6
14
-17
21
17.
Blackburn
25
5
6
14
-19
21
18.
Wolverhampton
25
5
6
14
-21
21
19.
Bolton
25
6
2
17
-22
20
20.
Wigan
25
4
7
14
-27
19
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