Melville out to impress

Speed (left) has failed to recover from injury

Wales v Czech Republic
1915 GMT at Cardiff's Millennium Stadium
Live on BBC Sport Online, BBC2 Wales, BBC Radio Wales and BBC Radio Cymru

Andy Melville is determined to prove a point to Fulham boss Jean Tigana when he captains Wales for the first time on Wednesday.

In the absence of the injured Gary Speed and Ryan Giggs, Melville has been handed the captain's armband on his 50th appearance for Wales.

For Melville, such an honour will represent the high point of his career, just days after the low of being on the bench for Fulham's Craven Cottage clash with Spurs.

It's a strange situation - dropped from my club side, but captain of the international side

Wales captian Andy Melville

"Sitting on the bench is not something I'm used to, but I'm hoping playing tomorrow (Wednesday) will persuade Jean I should be back in the team," said the centre-back.

"He knows what I can do, but it will be nice to go out there and prove a point to him as well."

Melville admitted that leading his side out against the Czechs "would be the icing on the cake for me bearing in mind I will be winning my 50th cap."

He added: "Obviously it's a strange situation - dropped from my club side, but captain of the international side."

The 33-yesr-old made his debut against West Germany in 1990, and has been a mainstay in the Welsh defence over the last decade.

But he will line-up in a vastly different Wales side to the one that secured a deserved 1-1 draw against Argentina last month.

Craig Bellamy, Giggs and Speed are among a group of 11 players who have pulled out of the original 26-man squad.

Bellamy has found top form this season

Wales manager Mark Hughes will also be without Carl Robinson, Darren Barnard, Andy Johnson, Robert Earnshaw, Iwan Roberts, Mark Crossley, Kit Symons and Mark Pembridge.

With so many absentees, the match also offers an ideal opportunity for squad members to prove they are able replacements at the highest level.

But plugging the gaps could prove difficult - particularly the troublesome left-back position occupied by Speed and Barnard in recent matches.

And as Newcastle have found, finding an able deputy for Bellamy can be a headache.

Hughes has called-up Paul Trollope, who moved from Fulham to Coventry City last week, Cardiff's duo Scott Young and Rhys Weston and Brentford's Paul Evans to the squad.

After the match, join the BBC's television studio panel for a live online chat to discuss everything and anything about Welsh football.

Go to www.bbc.co.uk/wales/talkwales at 2140 GMT or you can email your questions in advance to [e-mail]