EURO 2012 QUALIFYING GROUP G: VASIL LEVSKI STADIUM, FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 2, 2011. KICK-OFF 1915 BSTOn the one hand, Fabio Capello can tell his players that victory in Bulgaria and then against Wales at Wembley will see England reach the European Championship finals for the first time in eight years.
On the other hand, they go into the clash at Vasil Levski Stadium following two draws that have dented morale. Ghana earned a draw in a friendly but more importantly, Switzerland claimed a qualifying point at Wembley.
It could have been worse as the Swiss were two goals ahead before England fought back. But it has increased the pressure on getting a result against Lothar Matthaus' Bulgaria as they do not want the last game of qualifying, against Montenegro, to be a winner-takes-all showdown.
There are a differences since England last played. When they faced the Swiss it was at the end of a long season and players appeared to be ready for their summer holidays.
This time around players are fresh. More players are in top form, such as Wayne Rooney and Ashley Young, and there is optimism about getting the results needed to top the group.
Matthaus, the former Germany midfielder, has also admitted his team are building for the future rather than concentrating on their slim chances of reaching the next year's finals.
Key Match-up: Stiliyan Petrov v Wayne Rooney: Petrov returns to the Bulgaria squad and will captain the team. He is expected to patrol the area in front of the back four and set the pace of the game for the hosts. But he will also need to track Rooney when the Manchester United forward drops deep to get on the ball.
Form Guide: Bulgaria managed a draw in Montenegro in their last qualifier but suffered a friendly defeat to Belarus when they last played, with eight players then punished for getting caught drinking after the game. England have drawn their last two games but are still top of the group.
Odds: Bulgaria 6/1, Draw 11/4, England 8/15
ENGLAND:
England forward Rooney feels he is getting back to his best form after a year of misery starting before the 2010 World Cup, which included handing a transfer request in at Manchester United before backtracking.
He also received a ban from the Football Association for swearing down a camera after scoring against West Ham.
"All of them really were low points," said Rooney. "We won the league but it was frustrating because I knew I could do better. It was tough but thankfully I'm over that now and want to put it behind me and keep moving on."
Rooney credits his recent form to a summer of lounging on the beach. "The best thing for me was the five weeks in the summer when I did nothing," he said. No training at all. I honestly didn't lift any weights or run, nothing.
"The fitness coach gave me a programme to follow but I left it behind. I was a couple of kilos over but it's easy enough with the work you do in pre-season."
Capello has a decision to make on who will partner Rooney. Young has been in terrific form for United, while Darren Bent has pushed for a starting place recently.
Strategy: England struggle to slow games down so they are likely to set a Premier League pace when they kick-off. Capello has the option of using pace on the flanks to get behind the Bulgarians.
Injury Update: Robert Green pulled out earlier in the week but the rest of the squad travelled to Sofia. Rio Ferdinand was not included in the original squad.
BULGARIA:
Bulgaria coach Matthaus is no stranger to rivalry with England following his time as Germany skipper. He has put all the pressure on Capello's men to get a result.
"All the pressure will be on them to win," he told The Guardian newspaper. "They need to stay ahead of Montenegro, who are in hot pursuit in the group, and they need to get the maximum points before the key match [in Podgorica].
"Unfortunately for us, they've had more problems in Wembley, strangely enough. The pressure got to them in the games against Montenegro and Switzerland and a certain heedlessness crept into their game."
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