Big bruiser gives Burley a headache over goalkeepers

It was not John Carew but the Scottish equivalent who caused George Burley the greatest anxiety against Norway last October. Injury has prevented Chris Iwelumo, the Wolverhampton Wanderers centre-forward, from seeking redemption after that infamous sclaff in the closing minutes of the 0-0 draw at Hampden Park

Since then, the fates have been sympathetic to a long-suffering sporting nation. Victory against Iceland counterbalanced the inevitable loss to the Netherlands in the Amsterdam ArenA but it is results elsewhere that have kept Scotland on course for a place in the World Cup play-offs. Norway, Macedonia, Iceland - everyone in Group 9, in fact, except the cantering Dutch - have taken turns to inflict harm on themselves and each other.

Victory in the Ullevaal Stadium will condemn the Norwegians to also-ran status in the five-team group and force the eccentric Egil Olsen to hang up his Jimmy Cricket wellies once again. More significantly, it will leave Scotland needing a home win against a faltering Macedonia to avoid a tetchy finale against the Dutch at Hampden.

Scotland have little to fear from the unreconstructed Scandinavians, save for the obvious threat of their one remaining top-class performer. Carew is a colossal presence in their front line, the focal point of Olsen's agricultural strategy and the reason Steven Caldwell has been recruited to tag-team the brawny Aston Villa centre-forward with the help of his little brother, Gary. The omission of David Weir is one of Burley's now-standard googlies. The 39-year-old coped admirably with the sheer might of the man mountain at Hampden but, rather astutely, the manager is more concerned with injecting some pace in his defence to counteract the anticipated stream of second balls from Carew's forehead.

John-Arne Riise is no longer physically equipped to be considered the rampaging wing-back of old but he has retained sufficient power in his left boot to leave Burley fretting over the dangers of set plays from 35 yards in. Burley's toughest decision, then, will be in whose hands to place Scotland's entire campaign. The absence of Craig Gordon and Allan McGregor leaves the manager with a straight choice between Neil Alexander and David Marshall.

Jamie Langfield, bless him, retains his place in the squad for good attendance. Heaven forbid Burley should be so short that he has to call on a goalkeeper known as Clangers'. Marshall, who joined Cardiff City in the summer, seems the best option.

Failure to give him his place would leave him wondering if there is any point in travelling for every gathering with no prospect of involvement. Marshall is also a more strapping specimen than Alexander and, thus, less likely to be intimidated by the artillery launched in to Carew. Alexander, despite his natural pessimism, has performed dependably for Rangers and has even managed to avoid implication in pre-season defeats to Arsenal and Portsmouth.

The rest of the team picks itself, as far as you can second-guess Burley on such high-stakes nights. This, after all, is the man who responded to a wilting defeat in the Skopje heat by playing 4-3-3 in Reykjavik three days later and the coach who granted Ross McCormack his competitive debut against the Dutch. Doubtless, he will have a trick up his sleeve for Olsen.

Alan Hutton, a major bonus since his return to fitness, and the evergreen Graham Alexander are expected to flank the Caldwell brothers, Gary and Steven. Do not discount the possibility of Steven Whittaker being parachuted in from left field to left-back.

Scott Brown and Darren Fletcher will offer complementary drive and poise in midfield, while Shaun Maloney, Kris Commons and McCormack could all be enlisted to maximise invention in support of either the inspirational James McFadden or the energetic Kenny Miller.

Maloney was in elusive form for Celtic against Dynamo Moscow, while Commons and McCormack are now valued in the £5m bracket by Derby County and Cardiff respectively. Suddenly, a team derided as one-dimensional and pragmatic has an abundance of crowd-pleasers.

Miller scored twice on Scotland's last visit to the Ullevaal, in the 2-1 win in 2005, while McFadden remains an international talisman, in spite of his stuttering, injury ridden spell at Birmingham City. For all the fresh-faced conscripts, there is something quite comforting about Burley's Scotland as they approach the home straight.