Joe Ledley issues Wales warning

JOE Ledley has warned Wales they will face a Scotland side brimming with quality on Friday.

The former Cardiff midfielder now plays north of the border with Celtic so is more familiar than most with Craig Levein's side.

Scotland have drawn their opening two Group A matches against Macedonia and Serbia and travel to Wales desperate for a win to keep their World Cup qualification hopes alive.

They include the likes of Steven Fletcher in their ranks, the man who scored a double for Sunderland against Swansea City last month.

"There's a little bit of a rivalry because I know a couple of their players," said Ledley.

"It's going to be difficult because they are good players.

"They fancy their chances, and obviously me and Ads (Adam Matthews) fancy our chances.

"There's been a fair bit of banter flying around.

"Scotland are a fantastic team, they've got a lot of Premier League players and a lot of players in the SPL.

"I know they'll have a lot of fans coming to watch the game so we'll look forward to it.

"It's a must-win game for them. They need the points and so do we, so it should be a fantastic game."

Wales are looking to move off the mark in their quest to reach Brazil 2014 after opening defeats to Belgium and Serbia.

Chris Coleman is already feeling the pressure after Wales were thumped 6-1 in Novi Sad last time out.

But they remain only four points behind pool leaders Serbia so a positive result on Friday, and again against Croatia four days later, could revive qualification hopes.

"We look forward to the challenge ahead of us," said Ledley.

"We've obviously got two very important games and we need to get points on the board.

"We'll take it game by game because you can't predict exactly how many points we'll need.

"It's so early in the competition we just need to concentrate on our own game and hopefully the points will come.

"We would like a point or three, but in this group anyone can beat anyone. Belgium and Croatia are both good teams. We just need to get some points as soon as possible."

Barnsley striker Craig Davies returns from the international wilderness after being called up by Coleman in Craig Bellamy's absence.

Swansea defender Jazz Richards and Bristol City duo Lewin Nyatanga and James Wilson come into the squad.

The changes came after Joel Lynch and Dave Edwards withdrew ahead of Friday's clash at the Cardiff City Stadium.

Davies, 26, scored four goals in Barnsley's recent 5-0 Championship win over Birmingham and has netted eight times this season.

Wales are without three injured first-choice players as goalkeeper Wayne Hennessey, left-back Neil Taylor and midfielder Jack Collison are all missing through injury.

Back-up stopper Boaz Myhill is also out, meaning Tranmere's Owain Fôn Williams could start between the sticks, while Celtic right-back Matthews is struggling with ankle trouble.

But key trio Aaron Ramsey, Gareth Bale and Joe Allen are all set to feature.

"It's nice to see a strong squad meeting up and we've been lucky with injuries," said Ledley.

"We're confident although it's a difficult game.

"With the players we've got, I'm sure we can come through it.

"Joe Allen's doing really well for club and country and it's the same with Aaron (Ramsey).

"I've known Aaron for a long time and he's a good friend of mine. It's a pleasure to play with those two in training."

Ledley returns after missing the first two qualifiers through injury.

"It's nice to be involved for Wales. I haven't played for them for a long time," he added.

"I think the first two games have been pretty hard.

"When you play away it's difficult and there are only two games gone.

"Hopefully we can perform better as a team this time and get some points on the board."

Wales: Jason Brown, Lewis Price, Owain Fôn Williams, Darcy Blake, Ben Davies, Jazz Richards, Chris Gunter, Lewin Nyatanga, James Wilson, Adam Matthews, Sam Ricketts, Ashley Williams (capt), Joe Allen, Andy King, Joe Ledley, Aaron Ramsey, David Vaughan, Gareth Bale, Simon Church, Steve Morison, Hal Robson-Kanu, Sam Vokes.