The Kiwis stand on the brink of securing World Cup qualification for the first time since 1982 and national interest in the round ball game is at an all-time high. Having ground out a 0-0 draw in the first leg in Manama, Ricki Herbert’s side are very much in the box seat and will be roared on by what is expected to be a record crowd for a football match in New Zealand. Unsurprisingly, Herbert has named an unchanged squad from that which drew the first leg, with skipper Ryan Nelsen fortunately avoiding the outbreak of swine flu that struck down several of his Blackburn Rovers club-mates and striker Rory Fallon shaking off a calf injury picked up in his most recent outing for Plymouth Argyle. The Kiwi management will also have been pleased to see Gold Coast United hit-man Shane Smeltz mark his return to form by bagging the winner against Sydney FC last week, taking his tally for the season to an impressive eleven.

Bahrain may come into the game as underdogs, but they showed enough in the first leg to indicate that they have the ability to trouble the home side and they also have the benefit of previous play-off experience, having lost out to Trinidad & Tobago in their bid to reach the 2006 World Cup in Germany.

Wily veteran coach Milan Macala will undoubtedly have some tricks up his sleeve, but he will be without the services of prolific striker A’ala Hubail who has been sidelined by a serious knee ligament injury. Only seven of the Bahrain squad are full-time professionals and two, Abdulla Fatai and Jaycee John, ply their trade outside the Middle East, in Switzerland and Belgium respectively.

Wellington Phoenix’s fans manage to create plenty of noise in the Westpac Stadium even when it is only a quarter full, so the atmosphere generated by a full house should be something to behold. Like Australia, the home side may find themselves on the wrong end of the possession chart, but look to have enough fire power up front to ensure that Ricki Herbert is celebrating a famous double on Saturday night. The likeable 48-year-old played in the 1982 World Cup and if he can follow that up by steering his country to the 2010 finals, the party in Wellington may go on for some time.

Prediction: New Zealand 1-0 Bahrain