Germany takes on Algeria on Monday, June 30^th, in what is both clubs' first knockout round match. The winner will move on to face France in a quarter final match to be played Friday, July 4^th.

Though Germany, one of the tournament favorites, is expected to advance, it will not be easy. For one thing, while they've at times looked like the best club at this year's World Cup, Germany has also had moments of surprising vulnerability, particularly on defense.

Additionally they'll be facing a tough Algeria squad that fought its way out of the group stage and is looking to make some noise in its first ever knockout round appearance.

When: 4 p.m. ET

Where: Estadio Beria-Rio, Porto Alegre

Live Stream: ESPN Player

TV: ESPN

Germany

According to SBNation, attacker Mario Gotze should find his way back into Germany's lineup after the club benched him in their last match in favor of Lukas Podolski. Gotze's return aside, Schweinsteiger is expected to remain at center midfield as Sami Khedira's conditioning is still in doubt.

Algeria

Given their success in their last match against Russia, Algeria coach Halilhodzic will most likely opt to leave his lineup alone against Germany. That being said, Halilhodzic could look to strengthen Algeria's defense by inserting Madjid Bougherra in the center of their formation. If this ends up being the case, Saphir Tader is also likely to replace Yacine Brahimi, moving the lineup from 4-2-3-1 to 4-3-3.

Matchups to Watch

Algeria's wingers vs. Germany full-backs - Germany's one obvious weakness is most likely their full-backs. Currently, Howedes and Boateng have shifted over from their natural positions as center-backs and lack the speed to play the position adequately. Algeria's wings should look to exploit Howedes in particular on isolation plays and crosses into the box.

Thomas Muller vs. Algeria's Defense - Muller has been a scoring machine so far this tournament, attacking the box and also creating space for others on offense. If Algeria can't slow him down, they will have little hope of winning the match.

Lineups (left to right)

Germany (4-3-3): Manuel Neuer, Benedikt Höwedes, Mats Hummels, Per Mertesacker, Jerome Boateng, Toni Kroos, Philipp Lahm, Bastian Schweinsteiger, Mario Götze, Thomas Müller, Mesut Özil

Algeria (4-2-3-1): Raïs M'Bolhi, Djamel Mesbah, Madjid Bougherra, Rafik Halliche, Aïssa Mandi, Carl Medjani, Nabil Bentalebm, Abdelmoumene Djabou, Yacine Brahimi, Sofiane Feghouli, Islam Slimani