Norway, Turkey and Bosnia-Herzegovina are jostling for position on 13 points, five behind the leaders.

Turkey have a game in hand on the other two contenders and have the chance to establish themselves as the leading challengers to Greece when they travel to play Malta.

However, the Maltese will look to draw inspiration from a famous battle between the nations, which coincides with the date of the match.

September 8 is celebrated as 'Victory Day' in Malta and marks the end of a three-month siege by Turkish forces back in 1565, when they were defeated by local knights.

Whether Malta's footballers can provide a repeat remains to be seen but in terms of qualification their hopes are all but over after just one win in seven matches.

Turkey coach Fatih Terim has recalled Galatasaray midfielder Ayhan Akman and Fenerbahce's Deniz Bar to his squad.

Veteran Galatasaray striker Hakan Sukur, the leading goalscorer in the history of the Turkish Super Lig, is also his country's most prolific marksman and the visitors will look to him to supply the goals needed to qualify for next summer's tournament in Austria and Switzerland.

Norway visit a Moldova side that lies bottom of the group with just two points.

Aage Hareide's men need a win to keep their Euro 2008 dream alive but will also be relying on slip-ups from Turkey and Greece in order to qualify.

Bosnia-Herzegovina are in the same position as Norway as they travel to play an in-form Hungary.

Despite their qualification hopes looking bleak, Hungary head into the clash on a high after a shock 3-1 win over World Cup winners Italy in their last friendly.

Bosnia-Herzegovina lost the reverse fixture 3-1 and will face an equally tough task when they travel to Budapest.