Northern Ireland V Switzerland - preview and possible line-ups

Northern Ireland: Michael O'Neill has received a double boost with both Paddy McNair and Jamie Ward returning to fitness following knee and calf injuries respectively. Ward missed Northern Ireland's last five qualifiers whilst McNair had been on the sidelines for the past 11 months. Aaron Hughes (calf) is also available.

Switzerland: Former Arsenal defender Johan Djourou (knee) and former West Ham midfielder Valon Behrami, who is currently involved in something of a club-versus-country row, (thigh) are both expected to miss the game.

Did you know? Only England (8) kept more clean sheets than Norther Ireland in qualifying (7). Northern Ireland are looking to qualify for their first World Cup since 1986. Switzerland won nine of their 10 qualifying matches.

Possible line-ups:

Northern Ireland: McGovern, McLaughlin, McAuley, J.Evans, Brunt, Norwood, Davis, C.Evans, Dallas, Washington, Magennis.

Switzerland: Sommer, Lichtsteiner, Schar, Elvedi, Rodriguez, Shaqiri, Xhaka, Dzemaili, Freuler, Mehmedi, Seferovic.

The thoughts of Northern Ireland boss Michael O'Neill:

"It's important to reach the World Cup. We saw what it did to the country during the Euros and it brought everyone together.

"The reality is these players have gone through a lot. Good and bad. Whatever happens we won't have any regrets. The prize is massive and we know how big a deal it is for everyone in Northern Ireland.

"Switzerland won nine games and didn't get automatic qualification. They have a lot of good players and we have done work on their attacking threats.

"They have lots of tournament experience. We respect them but we will be doing everything in our power."