The German coaches of Bulgaria and Switzerland – Lothar Matthaeus and Ottmar Hitzfeld – have demonstrated high spirits before Saturday's Euro 2012 qualifier clash of their teams in Sofia.

They will be facing each other as coaches years after Hitzfeld was Matthaeus's coach in Bayern Munich in 1998-1999.

Bulgaria's coach Lothar Matthaeus has declared that his team will take advantage of Switzerland's weaknesses in Saturday's Euro 2012 qualifier in Sofia.

The Bulgaria-Switzerland match is expected to be a life-and-death clash as it will be decisive for both teams' chances to make it to Euro 2012. Both Bulgaria and Switzerland are hoping to grab the three points in Sofia on Saturday in order to retain even a modest chance to make it at least to the second spot in qualifying Group G for Euro 2012.

Speaking Friday night, Matthaeus said he had researched carefully the weak spots of the weak team, and that Bulgaria will be play offensively, trying to use every mistake the Swill might make.

The German coach further said he believes the Bulgarian team is in high spirits before the vital clash.

The head coach of the Swiss national football team Ottmar Hitzfeld, who once was Matthaeus's coach in Bayern Munich, declared in Sofia that Switzerland is strong enough to beat the Bulgarians.

"This is a special match, very important for both teams. It is a clash between competitors. I am eager to clash with Lothar Matthaeus, he is a successful player and a good coach. We are going to demonstrate our psychological resilience," Hitzfeld said.

"Bulgaria has a strong team. It doesn't matter if some of the players are absent. I know that according to Lothar Matthaeus, the Bulgarian side has the advantage but what happens on the field matters most," he commented regarding the absence of Bulgarian forwards Martin Petrov and Valeri Bozhinov from Saturday's match.

Bulgaria holds the fourth spot in Euro 2012 qualifying group G with 3 points. Montenegro is first with 10 points and four matches, all the other teams have three played three matches each. England is second with 7 points followed by Switzerland with 3 points but with a better goal difference than Bulgaria. Wales is on the last, fifth spot with 0 points.