The Euro 2004 Football Championships.
Latvia v Germany preview
by Mark Kendall - Last Updated 18 Jun 2004
Germany face Latvia on Saturday knowing that nothing less than a win will suffice if they are to realistically progress from Group D.
The Germans were somewhat unfortunate not to emerge from their opening game against fierce rivals Holland with a win after leading for much of the encounter.
The match ended 1-1 courtesy of Ruud van Nistelrooy's late leveller, meaning that Rudi Voller now knows that three points are imperative against outsiders Latvia.
As a result, the Germany boss is expected to employ a more attacking formation than the one with which he started against Holland, where Kevin Kuranyi played as a lone striker.
Fredi Bobic, who came on as a late substitute against Holland, looks set to get the nod to start, although Bayern Munich youngster Bastian Schweinsteiger could force his way into contention after producing a fine substitute cameo against the Dutch.
Defensive midfielder Frank Baumann is favourite to make way to accommodate a more attacking player.
Latvia came away with great credit from their game with Czech Republic after nearly producing a huge shock.
Alexander Starkovs's men led 1-0 deep into the second half before finally succumbing to two late goals.
The Latvia chief is unlikely to make many changes after his side's impressive display, although he has hinted that Southampton's Marian Pahars - who came off the bench against the Czechs - will have a more prominent role to play.
Pahars looks likely to start in place of Aleksanders Prohorenkovs, while midfielder Juris Laizans is also pressing to break into the starting line-up.
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