International friendly week arrives once more to clog up the football calendar, and leave club bosses across the world on the edge of their seats as their prize assets set off to put themselves in the firing line for their countrys honour.

There is a full card of national fixtures, throwing together some interesting pairings, but for Portugal the need to maximise the benefits of this friendly is greater than most.

Portugal coach Carlos Queiroz has selected a reasonably strong squad for the friendly match against Finland, which is understandable given the pressure mounting on the former Real Madrid manager. His side have hardly made the most inspiring of starts in their World Cup Qualifying section, picking up just one win from four matches played and sitting two points behind group leaders Denmark in the race to South Africa in 2010.

As a result Queiroz understandably wants to spend as much time as possible with his full strength squad so that any issues can be ironed out before the next crucial match against Sweden, where anything other than a victory would put the former Manchester United assistant's position in severe jeopardy.

The squad has been freshened up slightly however, with three new faces seeing their performances for their club sides rewarded with inaugural call-ups. Eliseu (Malaga), Goncalo Brandao (Siena) and Orlando Sa (Braga) should offer healthy competition and may be in with a chance of making their debuts. Queiroz has already stated that the introduction of these three new additions represents fresh air in the team, and that they represent the future for Portugal.

Finnish Flair

Finland meanwhile have made a solid enough start in their World Cup section, with a win, draw and loss in the opening three fixtures, and coach Stuart Baxter has named his strongest squad for the match.

Their next fixture is against Wales in Cardiff, and with John Toshacks side sitting two points in front Finland absolutely must get a result to stay in touch with the leaders, Russia and Germany. Indeed, their 3-3 draw against the Euro 2008 finalists last year proved that they can compete with more established sides at this level, and they have players starring at reputable clubs across Europe.

The likes of Jussi Jaaskelainen at Bolton, Sami Hyypia at Liverpool and Petri Pasanen at Werder Bremen are all involved against high-quality opposition on a regular basis, and a match against a side of the standard of Portugal can only help Finland prepare for their tough qualifying fixtures ahead.

Despite the fact that Baxter's side were humbled 5-1 by Japan in their last outing, the Englishman fielded an inexperienced and experimental team in that fixture and he is likely to play close to a full-strength line-up on Wednesday evening.


FORM GUIDE

Portugal:

20 Nov Brazil 6-2 Portugal (Friendly)
15 Oct Portugal 0-0 Albania (WCQ)
11 Oct Sweden 0-0 Portugal (WCQ)
10 Sep Portugal 2-3 Denmark (WCQ)
06 Sep Malta 0-4 Portugal (WCQ)

Finland:

04 Feb Japan 5-1 Finland (Friendly)
15 Oct Russia 3-0 Finland (WCQ)
11 Oct Finland 1-0 Azerbaijan (WCQ)
10 Sep Finland 3-3 Germany (WCQ)


TEAM NEWS

Portugal Squad:

Daniel Fernandes, Eduardo, Bruno Alves, Goncalo Brandao, Pepe, Miguel, Paulo Ferreira, Rolando, Deco, Joao Moutinho, Maniche, Raul Meireles, Duda, Tiago, Eliseu, Danny, Hugo Almeida, Nani, Orlando Sa, Cristiano Ronaldo

Finland Squad:

Jaaskelainen, Enckelman, Lampi, Tihinen, Hyypia, Pasanen, Kallio, Pasoja, Heikkinen, Eremenko, Kolkka, Ptrescu, Litmanen, Sjolund, Johansson, Forssell, Kuqi, Sadik, Hakola


PLAYERS TO WATCH

Portugal:

Zenit St Petersburgs Danny may be given a start through the middle as Portugal continue to search for an answer to the striking problem which has troubled them for years.  Danny needs games after the Russian season ended, and he should be raring to go at the Finnish on Wednesday.

Finland:

Evergreen Jari Litmanen truly is a legendary figure in European football, and the fact that he can still make his way into the national team at 37 years of age speaks volumes for his professionalism and fitness. He has been capped 130 times in his glittering career, and still has one of the sharpest brains in the modern game.


PREDICTION

Queiroz needs a positive result after the mauling from Brazil last time out, and he should get one with new additions desperate to impress.

Portugal 2-0 Finland