Giovanni Trapattoni said the Republic of Ireland are "well prepared" for their forthcoming tests against the top seeds in Group B, Russia and Slovakia

Republic of Ireland coach Giovanni Trapattoni has named a 26-man squad for the potentially key Group B qualifiers against Russia and Slovakia.

Ireland posted maximum points from their opening matches but are ready for tougher tests in Moscow and Dublin, on 8 and 12 October respectively. "We go into these qualifiers with six points from six in the opening games of the campaign in September," Trapattoni said. "We performed well against Armenia and Andorra and we will build on these good results in our next games.

"These teams are the top seeds in the group and they will be looking to take three points from us to kick-start their EURO campaigns but we have prepared well and will not make it easy for them as we continue to lay the foundations to qualify for the European Championship finals." Centre-back Richard Dunne (knee) and midfield player Keith Andrews (groin) are the Italian's main injury concerns.