Wales welcome Turkey to Cardiff for their final Euro 2024 qualifier on Tuesday.
Rob Page’s side must win and hope Croatia do not beat Armenia in order to secure automatic European Championship qualification and avoid the play-offs in March.
Here, the PA news agency studies some of the main talking points surrounding the game.
Favour needed
Wales’ disappointing 1-1 draw in Armenia on Saturday took automatic qualification out of their hands heading in to the final round of matches.
Croatia seized advantage by winning 2-0 in Latvia to move in to the box-seat and claim the second spot behind Turkey.
The mathematics for Wales are simple: nothing other than beating Turkey will do, while praying Croatia do not finish with victory.
Armenia have been Wales’ bogeymen in this group by taking four points from them, but they now need a huge favour from the team ranked 95 in the world.
Play-off lifeline
Amid the gloom of a flat performance against Armenia in Yerevan and Croatia’s subsequent success a few hours later, it was overlooked that Wales actually secured a play-off spot on Saturday due to other results across Europe.
Wales would have suffered the agony of missing out on the play-offs had three from Italy, Netherlands, Switzerland and the Czech Republic missed out on automatic qualification.
While Italy and the Czechs await their fate on Monday, Netherlands’ 1-0 win over the Republic of Ireland and Switzerland’s 1-1 draw with Kosovo secured their places at Euro 2024 and gave Wales a play-off safety net.
Wales now hope Italy and the Czech Republic confirm their places in Germany next summer and provide them with a home play-off semi-final in March.
Will the real Wales stand up?
Two months, two games, two very contrasting displays.
October saw Wales produce one of their best performances of recent times as Croatia, World Cup semi-finalists less than 12 months ago, were downed in 2-1 in Cardiff.
Confidence was running high going into November’s camp but, having been stunned by an early Armenia goal, Wales were disjointed and fortunate not to lose again to a team ranked 67 places below them in FIFA’s world order.
Boss Rob Page’s task now is to rediscover the fizz and fluency that swept aside Croatia and shelve the anxiety and hesitancy that bedevilled them in Armenia.
Defensive Locks?
Wales must make at least one change with defender Chris Mepham suspended after collecting a third booking of the campaign in Armenia.
Tom Lockyer has had an eventful time over the last six months – winning promotion with Luton and requiring heart surgery after collapsing on the Wembley turf in the Championship play-off final.
But Lockyer, known as ‘Locks’, might get the nod over Ben Cabango to join Joe Rodon and skipper Ben Davies in Wales’ three-man central defence against Turkey.
Tottenham’s Brennan Johnson could also be restored to the attack, despite an underwhelming second-half performance off the bench in Armenia.
Talented Turkey
Turkey are on the rise again after missing out on the 2022 World Cup and underperforming at the last two European Championships when exiting at the group stage.
Having sacked Stefan Kuntz and appointed Vincenzo Montella as head coach halfway through Euro 2024 qualification, Turkey have won five of their seven games and sewed up a top-two spot last month.
Turkey avenged a solitary defeat to Croatia by winning 1-0 in Osijek, and their soaring confidence was underlined by a 3-2 friendly victory over Germany in Berlin on Saturday.
Real Madrid’s Arda Guler, who scored in sensational style against Wales in June, and Kenan Yildiz, of Juventus, are both 18-year-old attacking midfielders and rated two of the brightest prospects in European football.
'It's football hunger' – Moyes intent on West Ham stay as Lopetegui speculation swirls
David Moyes insisted there remains a "football hunger" to carry West Ham forward as speculation persists over the Hammers moving for Julen Lopetegui.
Widespread reports suggest West Ham have been in contact with Lopetegui, who left Wolves ahead of the 2023-24 campaign after just eight months in charge.
Yet Moyes reiterated his commitment to West Ham as the Scotsman aims for another top-10 Premier League finish, with the Hammers ninth in the table heading into the weekend's action.
"Absolutely, it's football hunger," Moyes responded when questioned on his drive to take West Ham to the next level.
"I'm nearly a bit embarrassed to be asked that question because I'm a football nut. I love my football, I go to games, I love it, really do. I have got great hunger."
"I said to everybody that we will make a decision at the end of the season."
West Ham and Moyes will hope to end a three-game winless run in the league when they head to London rivals Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on Sunday.
Courtois to make first start this season as Madrid close in on title
Real Madrid goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois will make his first start of the season against Cadiz on Saturday after making a full recovery from two knee injuries, Carlo Ancelotti has revealed.
Ancelotti, however, will remain cautious with Courtois, who has not played since suffering torn ligaments 13 months ago, with Andriy Lunin set to return for Wednesday's Champions League semi-final second leg against Bayern Munich.
"The decisive game we have in mind, a final, is Wednesday's match against Bayern, where Lunin will play. After that, we'll see what happens," Ancelotti said on Friday.
"Courtois is fine, he will play tomorrow after a long, long time. It's good news that he's coming back, just like [Eder] Militao.
"Courtois can contribute, he's feeling good, he's very excited. We are delighted to have him back."
Lunin has established himself as Ancelotti's preferred deputy in Courtois' absence, seeing off competition from Kepa Arrizabalaga.
Lunin was Madrid's hero as they beat Manchester City in the Champions League quarter-finals, making two saves in their 4-3 penalty shoot-out victory after an inspired performance in a 1-1 second-leg draw.
Courtois, however, is widely considered to be one of the world's best goalkeepers and the Belgian is likely to regain his starting spot soon, with a LaLiga and Champions League double in Madrid's sights.
He was named man-of-the-match in the 2022 Champions League final after making nine saves to deny Liverpool as Madrid clinched a record-extending 14th European title with a 1-0 win in Paris.
Brazil centre-back Militao returned in late March after tearing his anterior cruciate ligament in August, making his first start in last week's win at Real Sociedad in LaLiga.
"We were too passive against Bayern. We have to be more active. So Militao will play tomorrow to get into a rhythm," Ancelotti said.
"We are only thinking about the 'final' on Wednesday. We don't think about what might happen in a month's time. Hopefully, soon we can start looking further ahead, it will mean we'll make the final in London."
With five games left, Ancelotti's side top the LaLiga standings on 84 points, 11 ahead of Barca and 13 clear of third-placed Girona. They can clinch a record-extending 36th Spanish title if they beat Cadiz and Barcelona fail to win at Girona later on Saturday.
Pochettino laments 'stupid rumours' over future as Chelsea speculation persists
Mauricio Pochettino blasted "stupid rumours" as speculation continues over his future at Chelsea.
Pochettino oversaw a 2-0 win over former employers Tottenham on Thursday, becoming the first manager to complete a Premier League double after previously managing them in the competition.
Yet a longer-term view on the plans under Pochettino remain unclear, with reports linking Julian Nagelsmann, Hansi Flick and Roberto De Zerbi to Stamford Bridge should the Chelsea manager be moved on.
That comes after another heavy-spending season under the Todd Boehly-led ownership at Chelsea, who splashed once more on the likes of Moises Caicedo, Romeo Lavia and Christopher Nkunku.
Cole Palmer, Axel Disasi and Nicolas Jackson were among the other arrivals amid another chaotic transfer window in west London, with Pochettino battling injury issues and managing a large squad.
Whether Chelsea pull the trigger for another manager may depend on how the Blues finish the season, with Pochettino's side eighth but just three points behind sixth-placed Manchester United.
A place in Europe could be the decisive factor, though Pochettino vented his frustration at the situation in an honest assessment of the media reports questioning his job safety.
"I wanted to say that it is enough with this type of rumours, that if I have one year more [under] contract here and no one says nothing [to me], [I] suppose I'm going to be here," Pochettino said.
"Only if then, the season finishes and someone says to me 'ciao'... Because we don't know at the moment.
"I suppose that I have one more year contract and that I am going to be here. Enough about the stupid rumours.
"You need to ask the club if they want me to keep going or not, not to write things that have no sense."
Pochettino has not been distracted by those rumours, though, with Chelsea winning eight of their last 10 home Premier League games (D1 L1), after managing just one win from the 14 before that (D7 L6).
The Blues will hope to continue that imperious run of form when they host London rivals West Ham on Sunday at Stamford Bridge.
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