Europe Group Eight preview

WC Qualifiers

Italy need to raise their game against Georgia while the Republic of Ireland travel to Montenegro.

Italy coach Marcello Lippi admits the Azzurri need to raise their game after only scraping past Cyprus in their opening World Cup qualifier on Saturday.

Antonio di Natale scored both goals as the world champions laboured to victory in Larnaca, netting in the eighth minute before snatching all three points in stoppage time after Stathis Aloneftis had equalised on the half-hour mark.

Lippi, the 2006 World Cup-winning coach who returned to the hotseat to replace Roberto Donadoni after Euro 2008, expects an improved showing from his team against Georgia on Wednesday.

"We need to grow," he said. "In a month's time we will have more weapons, including better physical condition.

"We will have to suffer in certain qualifying games. This has already happened to us and will happen again.

"But the important thing is to grow as a team and that we qualify for the World Cup."

Lippi will have to overcome the loss of Gennaro Gattuso (hand/wrist), Alessandro Gamberini (shoulder) and Fabio Grosso (rib). All three players sustained injuries while on international duty at the weekend and will each be sidelined for around a month.

Georgia coach Hector Cuper will tell his players to keep a close eye on AC Milan playmaker Andrea Pirlo on Wednesday.

"Our number one danger is Pirlo," said the former Internazionale coach. "Andrea is the soul of the Azzurri team, he invents attacking moves every time he has possession."

Cuper revealed he will give Giorgi Loria another chance between the sticks despite his error to allow Glenn Whelan's weak shot to beat him as Republic of Ireland ran out 2-1 winners in Mainz at the weekend.

"He made a serious mistake on Whelan's goal," Cuper said. "Loria is not (Gianluigi) Buffon but he deserves to be granted another chance."

Georgia will be without defender Zurab Khizanishvili due to a knee injury.

The only other match in Group Eight on Wednesday sees the Republic travel to Podgorica to tackle Montenegro.

The Montenegrins came within seconds of achieving victory in their first competitive match since splitting from Serbia on Saturday, only for a last-gasp Blagoy Georgiev strike to salvage a 2-2 draw for Bulgaria.

Montenegro coach Zoran Filipovic is backing his side to win a clash of footballing styles on Wednesday.

The game will pitch two former Benfica employees - Filipovic and Republic boss Giovanni Trapattoni - into direct competition, and the former Yugoslavia international believes his midfielders could hold the key on a night when soaring temperatures could play a part.

He said: "This is a clash of two styles of football, and whoever controls the midfield will definitely be the winner.

"Our midfield players are technically stronger than the Irish - but I fear their strength.

"I don't agree that the Irish players have a 4-4-2 formation because their strikers are very quick and mobile, so they can switch from defence to attack very quickly.

"There is no pattern to how they play."