Blackpool midfielder Charlie Adam takes his place in midfield alongside Aston Villa youngster Barry Bannan. Manager Levein will be hoping for a morale boosting victory against the Brazilians.

The full Scotland squad:

Goalkeepers: Allan McGregor (Rangers), Craig Gordon (Sunderland/ENG), Iain Turner (Everton/ENG)
Defenders: Phil Bardsley (Sunderland/ENG), Christophe Berra (Wolverhampton Wanderers/ENG), Gary Caldwell (Wigan Athletic/ENG), Stephen Crainey (Blackpool/ENG), Grant Hanley (Blackburn Rovers/ENG), Alan Hutton (Tottenham Hotspur/ENG), Steven Whittaker (Rangers), Danny Wilson (Liverpool/ENG), Mark Wilson (Celtic)
Midfielders: Charlie Adam (Blackpool/ENG), Barry Bannan (Aston Villa/ENG), Scott Brown (Celtic), Kris Commons (Celtic), Don Cowie (Watford/ENG), Murray Davidson (St Johnstone), James McArthur (Wigan Athletic/ENG), James Morrison (West Bromwich Albion/ENG), Robert Snodgrass (Leeds United/ENG)
Forwards: James Maguire (Aberdeen), Kenny Miller (Bursaspor/TUR), Steven Naismith (Rangers)

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Birmingham’s season has been built on a foundation of a strong defence. Goalkeeper Joe Hart was snapped up on loan from Manchester City after they signed Irishman Shay Given, while central defence pair Roger Johnson and Scott Dann were both signed from Coca-Cola Championship sides Cardiff City and Coventry City respectively. Few imagined they would have such an impenetrable spine with players inexperienced in top-level football, but Alex McLeish has organised this Birmingham side superbly. If they maintain this form they could even push for a place in Europe, with many of their players hoping to be called up for national selection before this summer’s World Cup in South Africa. The future certainly looks bright at present for Birmingham City, and tickets are still available for this weekend’s clash with Blackburn at Ewood Park.

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While a result against Villa would normally prove unlikely, Martin O’Neill’s men have suffered of late. Beating Manchester United at Old Trafford in mid-December looked to cement their place in the top 4 but defeats against Arsenal and Liverpool since then have dropped them down the table. O’Neill will be keen to see an improved performance from his team, especially in light of Man City’s resurgence under Roberto Mancini.

All in all it’s shaping up to be a key clash for two teams at opposite ends of the table, and with Villa’s recent bad results, it looks to be one that will be keenly contested.

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Blackburn qualified for the semi-finals of the Carling Cup after a dramatic penalty shootout victory over the Barclays Premier League leaders Chelsea.

Paul Robinson was the hero after he saved spot-kicks from the usually deadly Michael Ballack and controversial teenage star Gael Kakuta to book a place in the last four for the Lancashire side.

A thrilling cup tie at Ewood Park began with Nikola Kalinic opening the scoring for the home side after just nine minutes against a Chelsea line-up shorn of the likes of John Terry, Frank Lampard, Didier Drogba, Ashley Cole and Ricardo Carvalho with a total of eight changes made from the side that won at Arsenal.

A reshuffle at half-time saw Blues manager Carlo Ancelotti make three substitutions bringing on Drogba, Kakuta and centre back Jeffrey Bruma. The changes paid immediate dividends as Drogba and Salomon Kalou made the scoreline 2-1 in the visitors favour within eight minutes of the restart.

Brett Emerton brought the scores level on 64 minutes before Chelsea were reduced to ten men when Kalou left the field injured with his manager having already made all three permitted substitutions.

Extra-time started perfectly for Blackburn with Benni Mccarthy slotting home past Hilario from the penalty spot to give Rovers a 3-2 lead and it seemed to be enough until Paulo Ferreira scored only his second Chelsea goal in over five years at the club with the last kick of the game to take the tie to penalties.

The unflappable Ballack saw his attempt saved by Robinson before Hilario saved from Kalinic to erase any advantage. As the shootout entered sudden death, Kakuta elected to smash the ball down the middle but Robinson – who had dived to his left for all the previous spot-kicks -elected to stay still and saved from the young Frenchman to send Ewood Park into delirium and Blackburn into the next round.

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Good news off the pitch has been rare in recent months, so manager Gianfranco Zola knows there could be no better time than to ease the West Ham‘s relegation worries with a home victory over a Burnley side that has yet to win away this season.

The players are making slow progress in their journey away from the relegation zone however. Though they have lost only one of their last five Premier League games three of those have been drawn, including the 3-3 thriller at Hull last weekend.

As a result, the Hammers will kick off with only their goal difference tally keeping them out of the bottom three but Wigan, one place and three points ahead, are also in their sights.

Burnley have picked up just one point away fromTurf Moor so far so Zola will not have to ponder too long on his tactics, which will revolve around putting as strong an attacking side as possible on to the pitch. Danny Gabbidon is back after a two-month lay-off and did well at left back at Hull, so previous first choice Herita Ilunga is likely to remain on the bench.

Long-term absentees Dean Ashton and Luis Boa Morte remain off the radar but defensive duo James Tomkins and Alessandro Da Costa face tests. Midfielder Kieron Dyer is back in contention following a hamstring problem.

Burnley manager Owen Coyle wants his side to continue playing an attacking brand of football. The Clarets’ manager has earned huge praise this season for the attractive football his side is producing in their first season in the Premier League.

He said: “We do try and entertain in games and we believe that the best thing for us to do is play attacking football so that is what we will try and do.

“We will have to be on our guard because they are a quality team but we want to impose ourselves on the match.”

Coyle’s side are currently in 11th spot in the Premier League and look comfortable at English football’s highest level.

Pundits had backed them to be guaranteed relegation favourites but Coyle has engineered six wins out of seven at home to ensure they are in a perfectly safe position as Christmas approaches.

Coyle added: “I think everyone in the Premier League, or they certainly did at the start of the season, thought that ‘here comes Burnley, here is a great chance for three points’ and I don’t mind that. It up to them how they view us. My concentration is on my players and getting the most out of them.

“We have proved that we can get points in this division, the best league in the world, and that is what we need to keep on doing.”

Coyle needs to send his side out full of self-belief against Hammers side that has won just once on home soil all term. A 4-3-3 formation would help Burnley highlight that they will not be bullied by West Ham as well as give Graham Alexander, Andre Bikey and full-backs Stephen Jordan and Tyrone Mears the opportunity to get forward and help forwards Stephen Fletcher and Robbie Blake.

A weak goal conceded to Aston Villa towards the end of last week’s match proves that Burnley’s defence can be breached at times so captain Steven Caldwell and fellow central defender Clarke Carlisle will be looking to return to peak form to ensure the Villa goal does not become a habit.

Martin Paterson, Chris McCann and Jay Rodriguez all remain long-term absentees for Burnley but apart from those problems, they are likely to name the same team that drew 1-1 with Aston Villa last weekend.

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Tottenham are on cloud nine after dispatching Wigan Athletic with the second largest margin of victory in Barclays Premier League history.

Only Manchester United’s 9-0 demolition of Ipswich Town in 1995 is greater than the thrashing handed out by the north London team on Sunday. The hero of the day was Jermain Defoe. The England striker bagged a remarkable five goals in a mere 36 minutes to take home the match ball and shoot to the top of the goalscoring charts.

In all, nine goals were scored in the second-half as Peter Crouch’s headed opener was all that separated the sides at half-time and three goals were scored in the last three minutes of the match alone.

Wigan have had an erratic campaign so far under new coach Roberto Martinez. They opened the season with a win away at Aston Villa and destroyed Chelsea’s 100% record by betting the leaders 3-1 at the DW Stadium. Conversely they also gave Portsmouth their first win of the season when they got hammered 4-0 at Fratton Park and this latest annihilation will certainly leave the coaching staff scratching their heads.

The players are so embarrasses by the heavy defeat that they have offered to refund their travelling supporters for the cost of their tickets – a remarkably generous gesture in this era of greed

The Latics have two home games – against Sunderland and Birmingham respectively – to steady the ship while Spurs will be looking to carry on their deadly form all the way to their London derby against Fulham on Boxing Day.

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Despite their nervy start, Wigan showed their resilience in the second half and put Manchester United under pressure during the second half. Manchester United, however, showed why they are the Premier League title holders and managed to hold on to claim three valuable points.

Manchester United are now two points behind Liverpool with a game in hand and have been made firm favourites to land their third Premier League title in a row.

Despite their nervy start, Wigan showed their resilience in the second half and put Manchester United under pressure during the second half. Manchester United, however, showed why they are the Premier League title holders and managed to hold on to claim three valuable points.

Manchester United are now two points behind Liverpool with a game in hand and have been made firm favourites to land their third Premier League title in a row.