4. Germany vs Austria (Group C)
Germany have a 5-point lead at the top of group C and can achieve automatic qualification this weekend if results go their way. First up they face Austria at the Allianz Arena. Joachim Löw's side won the match between the rival nations 2-1 in Austria 12 months ago and are expected to win the home tie by a wider scoreline. Arsenal fans may be keen to see their new signing Mesut zil in action whilst their current centre-back Per Mertesacker is also in the squad. Lukas Podolski is absent through injury. Other English Premier League interest may come from Chelsea whose Andre Schürrle has been called up. Germany are the bookmakers' third favourites to bring home the FIFA World Cup Trophy, behind Brazil and Argentina. They play an exciting brand of football and have a wealth of talented players to keep an eye on, including Julian Draxler, Mario Gómez, Mario Götze, Thomas Müller, Marco Reus and Bastian Schweinsteiger. Stoke City fans may be keen to see Marko Arnautovic in action for the visitors. Aston Villa's Andreas Weimann is also called up.
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Barrie's View is a football stat man focusing mainly on the English Premier League. Barrie also contributes to other large football blogs, including Back Page Football and Football Talk, and has been cited by the USA Today.
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