Cyprus v Belgium: Benteke boost for Wilmots' men

Belgium could welcome Christian Benteke back for Sunday's Euro 2016 qualifier with Cyprus in Nicosia.

The Liverpool striker missed his country's 3-1 victory over Group B rivals Bosnia-Herzegovina on Thursday due to a thigh injury he sustained while on club duty against West Ham last weekend.

But the problem is reportedly only a minor one and the 24–year-old may well replace Romelu Lukaku in the starting XI after the Everton forward failed to impress against Bosnia-Herzegovina.

Victory for the visitors will all but seal their place at Euro 2016 and, having trounced Cyprus 5-0 in Brussels earlier in the campaign, Marc Wilmots' men will head to the GSP Stadium in confident mood.

Belgium will, however, again be without Tottenham midfielder Mousa Dembele, who is still struggling to overcome an ankle injury.

Cyprus, meanwhile, must claim all three points if they are to keep their slender hopes of automatic qualification alive and they will be boosted by the return from suspension of Vincent Laban.

The French-born midfielder is expected to come straight back into the Cyprus side as the hosts attempt to secure a first victory over the Belgians.

Coach Charalambos Christodoulou will have taken some positives from his side's performance against Wales on Thursday in which they asked plenty of questions of the group leaders and were unfortunate not to have claimed a point.

Nestor Mytides and Constantinos Charalambides were both impressive going forward, while centre-back Dossa Junior played a key role in keeping danger man Gareth Bale quiet for long periods.

Even a point for Cyprus on Sunday would keep them in the mix for a third-placed finish and a possible play-off berth, with a crunch trip to Israel looming on October 10th.