Low brings in Werner

Germany head coach Joachim Low has named RB Leipzig forward Timo Werner in his 24-man squad for the friendly against England and World Cup qualifier against Azerbaijan.

The 21-year-old has scored 14 goals for his Bundesliga club this season and is picked for the first time alongside Lukas Podolski, who will play his last international match. Elgin City manager Jim Weir has challenged some of his fringe players to stake their claim by securingavictory againstLeague2 leaders Forfar today.

City have several injury concerns, most notably leading scorer Shane Sutherland, who will miss out and will undergo a scan on his knee injury tomorrow. Defender Matthew Cooper has also been ruled out with a hamstring injury, while skipper Archie Macphee and midfielders Chris Dodd and Keiran Stewart are doubtful.

Attacker Ali Sutherland is expected to be fit after being forced off in Tuesday’s 1-1 draw against Cowdenbeath with a facial injury.

Although the Black and Whites will be under-strength, Weir says the players coming in must grab their opportunity.

He said: “It’s a big game and whoever we’ve got fit we’ve got to try and get the best we can out of the players we’ve got.

“I’ve got to have a bit of faith the players who come in can do themselves justice and get a vital three points.

“We have lost our main forward at the worst possible time. We had a number of players who were really struggling on Tuesday but we couldn’t make any more changes, so it was like the walking wounded towards the end.

“I’m pleased with the effort I got frommy players after the goal and the disappointment of last Saturday’s 1-0 defeat by Annan.”

City are nine points behind today’s opponents but the Loons have suffered a dip in form having failed to win any of their last five games. Weir says a victory is essential to maintain any title hopes.

He added: “Anything other than a victory would make it difficult for us to challenge for top honours as the season draws to a close.”

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