Heavy favorites

On paper, Germany should have no trouble beating Azerbaijan in Baku on Wednesday evening. But head coach Joachim Loew's squad is not taking any chances of dropping points.

One reason is Azerbaijan's coach, Berti Vogts, who used to coach Germany's national team.

"He will be going into the game with a lot of motivation," said Loew of Vogts.

A win would allow Germany to open up a four-point lead at the top of Group 4 of European qualifying, but Russia, who are currently one point back, would have a game in hand as they have Wednesday off.

A loss would open the door for Russia to take the lead in the standings ahead of the face-off between the two sides on October 10. That match could decide which team earns an automatic berth in the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.

The pressure is on the German team to dominate Azerbaijan, as anything less than a sound thrashing will be viewed negatively in the German press.

The German side will be without striker Lukas Podolski against Azerbaijan. The FC Cologne star missed his team's opening Bundesliga match against Borussia Dortmund over the weekend due to a bruised thigh and did not travel with the national team this week.

"There was too great a risk that Lukas could be missing for a longer time if he played in Baku," said Loew.

Team captain Michael Ballack and Bayern Munich striker Miroslav Klose did make the trip despite their questionable status over the weekend. Klose was sidelined in Bayern Munich's debut due to an ankle injury but is expected to be ready to go by game time. Ballack has been nursing a toe injury in recent weeks but appears to have recovered.

mz/dpa/Reuters

Editor: Chuck Penfold