Slovakia v Paraguay

TEAM NEWS

Winger Miroslav Stoch is tipped to start for Slovakia after recovering from a minor knee injury.
Stanislav Sestak was used as a midfielder against New Zealand but is expected to play up front on Sunday, with Erik Jendrisek dropping to the bench.
Paraguay coach Gerardo Martino is likely to deploy a three-man attack, which could mean Roque Santa Cruz starts. The Manchester City striker, who has a muscle problem, came off the bench against Italy.
Aureliano Torres is set to drop out of the starting XI, while midfielder Jonathan Santana is struggling with a thigh problem.
One booking from suspension: Strba (Slovakia), Victor Caceres (Paraguay)

MATCH PREVIEW

Both these sides let a lead slip in their opening game, although of the two teams Slovakia will be the most disappointed, having led against Group F outsiders New Zealand until the third minute of injury time. While the Slovaks claimed their first-ever World Cup point in Rustenburg, coach Vladimir Weiss described the draw as a "small sporting tragedy".
Slovakia enjoyed plenty of possession against the All Whites but they struggled to break down Ricki Herbert's men, who defended in numbers and looked to mount occasional attacks from long balls and set pieces. It was a frustrating experience for the Slovaks, but they should at least be well prepared for the Paraguayans, who were similarly unambitious against Italy.
The South Americans could have beaten the world champions had it not been for a goalkeeping error, but they offered little going forward. Paraguay's goal, a header from Wigan-bound defender Antolin Alcaraz, was their only effort on target in 90 minutes against the Azzurri.
Don't expect coach Gerardo Martin to go for broke against Slovakia: "I don't think we need to win our next two games - draws may be sufficient to progress," he says.

MATCH FACTS

Head-to-head
- The two sides have never previously met.
- Paraguay faced World Cup debutants at the last two World Cups. They beat Trinidad & Tobago 2-0 in 2006 and defeated Slovenia 3-1 at the 2002 tournament.

SLOVAKIA

- Robert Vittek's goal against the All Whites was his 11th competitive goal for Slovakia - only former Middlesbrough striker Szilard Nemeth has scored more (13).
- They kept only three clean sheets in qualifying - against San Marino, Northern Ireland and Poland.
- Slovakia's last goalless draw was against Russia in 2005. Their last 47 games have produced at least one goal.

PARAGUAY

- Gerardo Martino's men kept nine clean sheets in qualifying for South Africa, and won more games than both Argentina and Brazil.
- The 3-1 win against Slovenia in 2002 is Paraguay's only victory in their last 12 World Cup games against European opposition.
- Utility player Denis Caniza could win his 99th cap against New Zealand. If he does he will be playing in his fourth World Cup. He is the only member of the Paraguay squad who took part at France '98.

MATCH OFFICIALS
Referee: Eddy Maillet (Seychelles)
Assistants: Evarist Menkouande (Cameroon) and Bechir Hassani (Tunisia)
Fourth official:Joel Aguilar (El Salvador)

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/world_cup_2010/matches/match_27/default.stm