Overview
- Northern Ireland have three points from two away games after beating Luxembourg and losing 3-1 to Germany, while Slovakia lead the group following two wins that included a shock over Germany.
- Windsor Park will stage Slovakia on Friday, 10 October, and Germany on Monday, 13 October, with both matches kicking off at 19:45 BST.
- Michael O’Neill reaches his 99th and 100th matches as manager and says he would trade the milestone for qualifying points, with a full 27-man squad reported fit.
- Midfielder Isaac Price says the squad carries confidence and even a touch of arrogance against top opponents, and Conor Bradley believes the team is more prepared for major qualifiers.
- The BBC will show and stream both games live across TV, iPlayer and the BBC Sport website, with radio on Radio Ulster and BBC Sounds, as pundits such as Stuart Dallas call the Slovakia tie the biggest in years and point to a charged Windsor Park atmosphere.