Cyprus v Wales

Wales had to dig deep to hang on to beat Cyprus in Cardiff last October

Euro 2016 qualifiers: Cyprus v Wales

• Venue: GSP Stadium, Nicosia
• Date: Thursday, 3 September
• Kick-off: 19:45 BST

Coverage: Live on Golsicilia.it Radio 5 live, Golsicilia.it Radio Wales, Golsicilia.it Radio Cymru and on the Golsicilia.it website.

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Wales know a victory against Cyprus in Nicosia on Thursday would put them on the brink of Euro 2016 qualification.

Chris Coleman's side would then need to beat Israel at home on Sunday to guarantee their place in the finals in France next summer.

Wales' previous two visits to Cyprus – both during John Toshack's tenure – ended in ignominious defeats.

But confidence is high among Coleman's men, who have lost only once in the past 11 matches and are top of Group B.

They have not conceded a goal in the three matches since beating Cyprus 2-1 in Cardiff last October.

Cyprus remain in contention to qualify with nine points from their six games, having started the campaign with a notable away win over top seeds Bosnia-Herzegovina.

Team news

Coleman said West Bromwich Albion defender James Chester is unlikely to play because of a hamstring injury, but could return in time for Sunday's match with Israel in Cardiff.

The manager is confident another injury doubt, forward Hal Robson-Kanu, will be fit after the Reading player took part in training.

Robson-Kanu, who scored Wales' second goal against Cyprus, suffered a groin injury in Saturday's 3-1 victory at Brentford.

James Collins, Ben Davies and David Edwards are back rafter missing June's 1-0 win over Belgium through injury.

Collins was a late arrival at the training base following the birth of his son over the weekend but has since taken full part in training

Midfielders Joe Allen, Emyr Huws and Jonathan Williams as well as defender Adam Matthews are out injured, with David Vaughan also unavailable for family reasons.

Uncapped Charlton Athletic left-back Morgan Fox received a late call-up to join the squad.

What the managers say

Wales boss Chris Coleman: "They'll make it difficult for us again, but why should they make it easy? We'll just concentrate on what we want to do.

"It's notoriously tough when we come here and it's not as if Cyprus have got nothing to play for.

"It's a must-win game for them if they're going to do anything in this campaign, but they'll be need to be prepared for us because if we're on top of our game then we're a challenge for anyone.

"The heat is on, the pressure is on, and this is where you find things out about yourself.

"We're good enough and strong enough to handle it and we've got to do that."

Cyprus coach Charalampos Christodoulou: "Wales is not Gareth Bale, they are a very good team in general and we will focus on the whole team and not on Bale.

"I don't agree with (what's been said about Cyprus targeting Bale in their previous game in Cardiff). If memory serves me right there were fouls from both teams in that game.

"In the first match it was Wales who ended playing with 10 players not Cyprus, we never play like this, we are not a dirty side that go above the limits.

"My team plays clean football, that's how we always play."