Hutchinson, Muscat poised for debut

John Hutchinson and Mannie Muscat are expected to make their debut for Malta this evening when the national team face the Czech Republic in a friendly in Jablonec (kick-off 5.20 p.m.).

The two Australia-based players landed in Malta last weekend after being selected in Dusan Fitzel's 20-man squad for today's warm-up and the 2010 World Cup qualifier against Sweden on Wednesday.

Today's friendly has been arranged with a view to aiding Malta's preparations for the daunting clash with the Swedes in Gothenburg. Mindful of the strength of the Czech Republic, Malta's priority this evening is to turn in a sound performance and avoid a heavy defeat that might blemish their morale ahead of Wednesday's qualifier.

Today, Fitzel is expected to make use of the majority of the players in his 20-man squad.

The match also gives the Czech coach the chance to assess the qualities of the candidates vying to replace captain Gilbert Agius and striker Michael Mifsud for the encounter with the Swedes.

Agius has not made the trip to the Czech Republic as he has an important family commitment to attend to on Sunday. His unavailability prompted Fitzel to rule the Valletta talisman out of Wednesday's qualifier.

Hutchinson, who plays for Central Coast Mariners, is regarded as favourite to step in for Agius in central midfield but there are still doubts over who will replace Mifsud, suspended for the match against Sweden.

Fitzel has picked only three recognised strikers in his squad, Barnsley's Daniel Bogdanovic, André Schembri, who this season turned out for Carl Zeiss Jena in Germany, and Birkirkara's Jean Pierre Mifsud Triganza.

Terrence Scerri, the Hibs striker who topped the Premier League scoring charts with 26 goals, is out of the picture as nagging injuries restricted his training in the past month.

For the Czech Republic, today's friendly has taken on added significance as it will be the first under new coach Frantisek Straka. The 50-year-old has taken over from Petr Rada who was sacked in April after a string of negative results in the World Cup qualifying campaign.

Straka has named no fewer than 11 uncapped players in his 20-man squad for the match against Malta. Milan Baros, Radoslav Kovac, Martin Fenin, Marek Matejovsky and Vaclav Sverkos are out of the equation after being suspended by the Czech FA for disciplinary reasons.

The Czechs are fourth in Group Three with six points from eight matches, five behind leaders Northern Ireland.

Malta are bottom of Group One with one point from seven matches.