Sky Sports News HQ reporter Paul Gilmour previews Northern Irelands World Cup Qualifying clash with Azerbaijan on Friday, a game live on Sky Sports 1 HD... What is it about this fixture and methods of transport? N Ireland vs Azerbaijan November 11, 2016, 7:30pm Live on Get Sky Sports Get a Sky Sports pass In Baku, before Northern Ireland lost 2-0 in a World Cup Qualifier in 2013, Michael ONeills side were prevented from getting into training when a passing freight train blocked the entrance. The players, fed up of waiting, got out of the bus and walked the remainder of the journey. A lot has changed for both sides since then. Northern Ireland, re-energised under the exciting leadership of ONeill, reached a major finals while Azerbaijan, backed by heavy investment, are the surprise package of Group C having not conceded a goal so far - one of four teams along with Germany, England and Belgium to achieve this feat in the European section of qualifying. On Tuesday, a side led by the former Real Madrid, Barcelona and Portsmouth midfielder Robert Prosinecki arrived in style at Belfast International Airport. Viewed as further evidence of their increasing financial clout, the players stepped out of a Boeing 787 Dreamliner, the first of its kind to land in Northern Ireland. Two Azerbaijan fans somehow found their way into a pre-World Cup qualifying training session – and made the most of it… Facilities have also been a key theme for this fixture. Azerbaijan have benefited greatly from better pitches yet made the decision to begin their preparation in Belfast three days before the match. In fact, they arrived here a full 24 hours before ONeills side, who had a productive few days near Dublin before traveling north by coach to the team hotel.Azerbaijan players didnt have it all their own way at the beginning of the week, though. On Wednesday they were informed that the training venue at Glentoran FC was waterlogged and the other two major Belfast venues (Crusaders and Cliftonville) were fully booked due to the popularity of their artificial pitches.Irish Premiership strugglers Carrick Rangers came to the rescue, meaning a 10-minute trip to training became a 30-minute journey, but the visitors enjoyed a good session. Watch NOW TV Watch Sky Sports for just ￡6.99. No contract. Prosinecki, who has affectionately been labelled Mr Angry by his players, clearly had fond memories of his time on the south coast judging by his rendition of Play up Pompey at the conclusion of our interview!He decided to train at 7.45pm each night to coincide with the kick-off time on Friday.I personally dont put a lot of value on that, said Northern Ireland manager ONeill.Our routine is similar to the clubs and what weve had is a consistent preparation over a longer period of time so players know what to expect when they come in. Minutes before the NI team arrived at their team hotel, a vehicle in the car park caught fire due to a technical fault What they didnt expect was to see firefighters battling a blaze at the team hotel. Minutes before the NI team arrived on Wednesday, a vehicle in the car park caught fire due to a technical fault. Emergency services were bringing the flames under control as the players made their way into the building. First to face the Sky Sports cameras was Northern Ireland centurion and popular member of the squad Aaron Hughes. Having recently celebrated his 37th birthday, Hughes has traveled from India where he is playing for Kerala Blasters.India is brilliant, it really is a good experience, Hughes said. The sport and league is on the up and away from football it is great to experience a different culture. Everyone is friendly and Ill look back fondly on this. Northern Irelands defender Aaron Hughes is currently playing his club football in India Hughes has been a consistent performer on his way to becoming NIs most capped outfield player but he appears more at ease coping with opposition strikers than Indias cows!Theyre sacred over there and they pretty much do what they want, he added.We went for dinner the other night and they sit in the car parks in between the cars. Little things like that are different. You just wouldnt see that in Tesco back here!Northern Ireland can move second behind runaway leaders Germany with victory against Azerbaijan before hosting Norway in March. Theyve already drawn away in Czech Republic.Weve as good a chance (of qualifying for the World Cup) as anyone in our group after the Germans, Hughes continued.QPRs Conor Washington is doubtful with a groin problem but Chris Brunt of West Brom returns to the international set-up for the first time in 13 months following a serious knee injury.The game is live on Sky Sports 1 HD from 7.30pm with build-up throughout the day on Sky Sports News HQ Also See: Evans issues N Ireland warning Sky Live: N Ireland v Azerbaijan ONeill content with start Charlies World Cup predictions Vans Shoes Cheap Onlne . Fernandez, coached in Toronto by former two-time Olympic silver medallist Brian Orser, scored 267.11 points and is the first champion to successfully defend since Russias Evgeny Plushenko in 2005 and 2006. Wholesale Vans Authentic Shoes .com) - The Chicago Blackhawks aim for their third three-game winning streak of the season when they host the struggling Edmonton Oilers in Sundays battle at the United Center. http://www.cheapvansdiscount.com/ . Marincin has played in two NHL games so far this season with two penalty minutes. The 21-year-old has three goals, four assists and a plus-5 rating in 24 games with the American Hockey Leagues Oklahoma City Barons this season. Vans Shoes Sale . Now, correct me if Im wrong but I saw one official distinctly pointing at the net indicating a good goal but after an inconclusive review they overturned the goal. Shouldnt the ruling on the ice (good goal) stand after an inconclusive review? Why was this overturned? James Veaudry Pembroke, ON -- Hey Kerry, Youll get a lot of these, but why was the Montreal goal against Nashville Saturday night overturned? Eller puts the puck on net and the on ice ruling from the ref behind the net is a Montreal goal. Cheap Vans Shoes For Sale . A lawyer for MLB, Matthew Menchel, confirmed Wednesday the league dropped its case against Biogenesis of America, its owner Anthony Bosch and several other individuals. The lawsuit had accused Biogenesis and Bosch of conspiring with players to violate their contracts by providing them with banned performance-enhancing substances. NEW YORK -- Northwestern came into the Legends Classic off a last-second loss to Butler.It didnt seem to bother the Wildcats as they beat No. 22 Texas 77-58 on Monday night.Im really proud of my guys tonight. We had a very tough loss Wednesday in Hinkle Fieldhouse at Butler, Northwestern coach Chris Collins said. Teams can go two separate ways after a loss like that. You can go on a little bit of a tailspin or you can rally together and come out fighting. There was never a doubt in my mind that our guys were going to keep fighting. We came in confident, yet very respectful of Texas. We knew it was going to take a great effort to beat a team like that. I thought a lot of guys played well.Bryant McIntosh had 20 points and five assists in the convincing win that propelled the Wildcats (3-1) into a championship showdown against Notre Dame, which beat Colorado 89-81, on Tuesday night at Barclays Center.McIntosh turned the ball over that led to Butlers buzzer-beater.I thought right after the Butler game, I knew we wouldnt go into a tailspin just because we didnt feel sorry for ourselves, McIntosh said. We were upset that we lost a game that we thought we could win. Thats a difference with this team than on the other teams Ive been on since being here. If we lost a close game, we felt sorry for ourselves where this team were hungry. We think were good and I thought tonight we played exceptionally well.Northwestern opened the game with an 11-0 run and closed the first half on a 9-0 spurt to take a 34-26 lead.The Wildcats opened the second half on a 10-1 run to go up by 17 points and the Longhorns (3-1) were never closer than 14 points the rest of the way.Scottie Lindsey had 16 points and Dererk Pardon had 10 points and 11 rebounds for Northwestern which took advantage of an out-of-synch Texas offense for the easy win.We came in to win, Collins said. We have the utmost respect for Texas, just like we did at Butler the other night. I just think theres a mindset with these guys. I think we believe were good. I believe we can play with these teams, not only play with them but beat them.Tavin Maack scored 18 points for the Longhorns, who finished with 14 turnovers and just seven assists.dddddddddddd Texas didnt help itself at the free throw line going 13 for 27.I thought Northwestern did a great job of starting the game with aggressiveness and got off to that big lead, Texas coach Shaka Smart said. Our guys responded really well and battled back and took the lead but obviously from there, Northwestern was just a much better team tonight.Northwestern, which shot 48.2 percent (27 for 56), led by as many as 20 points as nine of the 10 players who saw time scored.Texas, which came into the game averaging 82 points per game, shot 37.3 percent (19 for 51) and were outrebounded 40-31.I was a little bit concerned this morning because sometimes you can feel when guys get in the bright lights, you can tell theyre playing a little bit away from what really goes into it, Smart said. Its natural. I think we were a step off with a lot of things we know how to do.BIG PICTURE:Texas: The Longhorns allowed opponents to shoot 21.8 percent from 3-point range in their first three games. Northwestern was 10 of 24 (41.7 percent) from beyond the arc. ... Six Texas players were averaging double figures entering the game and only Mack reached that against the Wildcats.Northwestern: Vic Law came into the game shooting 76.8 percent (11 of 14) from 3-point range including eight in a row at one stretch. He went 1 for 2 Monday. ... Law was the Wildcats leading scorer at 20.3 points per game. He had just nine against Texas.BIRTHDAY WISH:McIntosh celebrated his birthday Sunday by heading to the famed Rucker Park with his godfather to shoot baskets.RARE MEETING:Northwestern leads the all-time series 2-1. The last time the teams met was in 1974, a 63-59 Texas victory. The first meeting was a 73-71 Northwestern victory in 1965.UP NEXT:Texas: will play Colorado for third place in the Legends Classic.Northwestern: will play Notre Dame in the championship game of the Legends Classic. 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