Georgia vs Wales. FIFA World Cup European Qualifying Group D.
Boris Paichadze Stadium.
Friday 6 October 2017 16:55, UK
Wales travel to Georgia on Friday evening without Gareth Bale, but looking to cement second spot in World Cup Qualifying Group D.
Chris Coleman's side currently lead the Republic of Ireland by a point and they could confirm at least a runners-up place if they win in Tbilisi, live on Sky Sports, and Martin O'Neill's men lose to Moldova.
Georgia and Moldova occupy the bottom two spots in Group D, but Wales were held to a 1-1 draw by their opponents last year.
Wales are without the injured Bale, but Coleman said: "It's international football so you have to get on with it. We're still strong enough to go to other countries and get points."
Although they cannot make the World Cup finals, Georgia manager Vladimir Weiss has promised Wales will not get an easy ride on Friday.
He said: "Every game is important for us, we play for the three points and for our supporters. We will not make it easy for Wales but they still have a chance to qualify."
The big news for Wales is the omission of star forward Bale, who picked up a muscle strain playing for Real Madrid against Borussia Dortmund last week.
Barnsley striker Tom Bradshaw has been called up in his place, but the withdrawal of Bale could pave the way for Liverpool youngster Ben Woodburn to earn his first Wales start after an explosive debut last month.
Marley Watkins has also withdrawn from the squad through injury with Ryan Hedges coming in as his replacement.
Georgia have had their own injury problems with Tornike Okriashvili, who scored in the 1-1 draw in Cardiff 12 months ago, and Jano Ananidze among the key absentees.
This will be the fifth time the two sides have met. Wales have never beaten Georgia, losing their first three contests before drawing 1-1 at the Cardiff City Stadium in October 2016.
Wales have won just one of their last seven games away from home (D3, L3), however they are unbeaten away from home in their last five World Cup Qualifiers (W1, D4).
In fact, that win did come in their most recent away fixture - a 2-0 victory over Moldova in September.
Wales have lost just one of their last 20 qualifying matches (W10 D9) for either the European Championships or World Cup, with the most recent one coming in October 2015 against Bosnia (0-2).
Georgia have won just one of their last 30 World Cup Qualifiers (D12, L17). Their one win came at home against Belarus in September 2012 (1-0).
"Bale is out and Georgia is not an easy away day so it will have to be a grinding performance from Wales. I do think they will get the result they need though, with tension high and discipline likely to be key against a very physical side.
"I would be looking to give Woodburn a start after being so influential in his last two games but Hal Robson-Kanu could be the hero."
Charlie predicts: 0-1 and Robson-Kanu to score first (14/1 with Sky Bet)
