Lawro's predictions

SATURDAY'S EURO 2008 QUALIFIERS

England v Estonia
(1500 BST)

Lets be honest - even at their very best Estonia are distinctly average.

Most of the focus this week seems to be on England's game against Russia in Moscow next Wednesday.

With this in mind, there has been plenty of speculation that boss Steve McClaren will make changes to the team that beat Russia in their previous match at Wembley.

The suggestion is that McClaren could opt to rest some players who are not fully fit, or who stand one yellow card away from a suspension.

The thing is, England have played nine games of their qualifying campaign so far and a lot of the players who have a yellow card have played in most if not all of these fixtures.

I tend to think that the yellow card issue is being slightly overplayed.

Enforced changes aside, I would be tempted to play the same side that defeated Russia 3-0 at Wembley. If England have the game won after the break, McClaren could then start thinking about changes.

Gareth Barry played very well against Israel and Russia, while Frank Lampard has had one outing for Chelsea since returning from injury.

I would select Barry against Estonia, though Lampard might come into the reckoning if McClaren decides to play three across the centre of midfield in Russia.

The most pleasing thing for me over the last two England games has been the high-tempo, in-your-face Premier League style of play.

England never seem to be able to play that way in major tournaments, which is disappointing because other teams struggle to handle the Premier League style of play.

Prediction: 2-0

Scotland v Ukraine
(1500 BST)

I think that one of the interesting aspects to the remainder of Scotland's campaign is how they handle raised expectations, both from their supporters and within the squad itself.

The 1-0 win in France was one of their best results in recent years and, with three games of their campaign left, Scotland are top of Group B.

They are one point clear of Italy and two ahead of France - and I hope it does not prove to be a case of so close but so far for Scotland.

Scotland had a change of manager when Alex McLeish took over from Walter Smith but it has not affected their performances on the pitch.

If you cast your mind bag to when Berti Vogts was in charge, it was a case of Rag Bag Rovers.

Scotland were all over the place but they have now got their pride back.

I just hope they continue to play in the same way, adopting a high tempo and hurrying and hustling the opposition.

Ukraine are likely to have Andriy Shevchenko and Andriy Voronin in their team.

Shevchenko, though, has not been impressive for Chelsea. He looks as though he is playing with a piano on his back.

Prediction: 2-1

Cyprus v Wales
(1715 BST)

Coach John Toshack was given a long contract when he took over at Wales.

This is because both Toshack and the Football Association of Wales knew it would be a long-term project to transform Wales into a team capable of qualifying for a major tournament.

During the current campaign Toshack has blooded a lot of young players, some 12-18 months before he would perhaps have liked.

As often happens when young players are involved, the Wales team have had a few good results but also some poor ones.

However, I think that we are slowly starting to see the semblance of a team, one that has one or two good players.

They will certainly have a stronger team by the time they are trying to reach the 2010 World Cup.

Wales' chances in Cyprus are improved considerably by the presence of Craig Bellamy.

There has been a lot made of the return of both England striker Michael Owen and Bellamy so soon after surgery.

The key point about Owen and Bellamy is that they were able to train a couple of days after their respective operations. This means they suffered virtually no muscle wastage.

Wales are currently level on points with Cyprus in Group D and I think that will remain the case after this game.

It does not feel at all natural to say this, but Cyprus at home are a decent team.

Prediction: 2-2

Republic of Ireland v Germany
(1945 BST)

If the Republic had held on in Slovakia for a victory on 8 September and then nicked a draw in the Czech Republic a few days later their current situation would be very different.

That, though, is all 'ifs' and 'buts' and the reality is that Steve Staunton's team will not qualify for Euro 2008.

I think his team can go so far with the players he has but not quite far enough to qualify.

One of the key things for the Republic will be the group draw for their 2010 campaign.

They will not be one of the top seeds and will need a bit of luck to place them in a group that gives them a realistic chance to qualify.

On the positive side, it does look as though a few players are starting to come through and they remain a difficult side to beat at home.

I saw Germany play England at Wembley and I do not think they are anything special.

Prediction: 1-0

Mark Lawrenson was talking to Paul Fletcher.

Source: BBC Sport