Prediction: Germany vs Northern Ireland

Verdict: Germany to win to nil

Best Odds: 1/2

Bookmaker: bet365

Germany recorded two comfortable wins at the start of the 2018 World Cup qualifying campaign and everybody expects them to continue in the same manner on Tuesday evening. Northern Ireland will be looking to stop Die Mannschaft in their tracks as well as get revenge for the narrow defeat at the Euro 2016 finals.

Germany

Looking at the 21st century alone, Germany have probably been the world’s most consistent national team, reaching seven semi-finals at major international tournaments in last eight attempts. Granted, they’ve only got one major title to show, won in Brazil two years ago, but nobody will be surprised if they added few more trophies to their name in the near future. Die Mannschaft performed well at the Euro 2016 finals, but absent Marco Reus and red-hot Thomas Muller were sorely missed, with the latter failing to get on the scoresheet in any of the six fixtures in France. The real Thomas Muller then stood up for the 2018 World Cup qualifiers, bagging four goals in first two matches, so no wonder that Germany recorded 3-0 wins over Norway and Czech Republic. Mesut Ozil was also in fine form at the weekend after several under-par performances for Arsenal, so it goes without saying that Northern Ireland have every right to dread the trip to HDI Arena in Hannover. Having now won three straight games without conceding, while enjoying a 1-0 triumph over Northern Ireland at the Euro 2016, Die Mannschaft look a good bet to make it four wins in a row without conceding.

Team News

Manchester City playmaker Ilkay Gundogan is expected to replace Sami Khedira in the starting line-up, but there will be no other changes.

Northern Ireland

Northern Ireland have been on a major uptrend over the last few years and they are currently enjoying the most successful period in the national team history. The Green and White Army not only qualified for the Euro 2016 finals, but managed to reach the knockout stages, where they suffered a somewhat unfortunate defeat to Wales. Michael O’Neill’s side have since continued with strong performances, holding Czech Republic to a goalless draw before recording a 4-0 triumph over minnows San Marino, but they’ve got plenty of reason for concern ahead of the Germany clash. While they failed to score in three of four fixtures at the Euro 2016 as well as in the away game with Czech Republic, Northern Ireland also experienced problems when facing arguably the Europe’s weakest side as they had only scored from the penalty spot before Kyle Lafferty came on midway through the second period. Chances are that Norn Iron players will not even see much of the ball against in-form Germany in Hannover, so we seriously doubt they will be able to show any improvement in the attacking department.

Team News

Michael O’Neill has made it clear that he plans to make wholesale changes for the Germany game, with Kyle Lafferty certain to start after scoring a brace against San Marino.

Veteran defender Aaron Hughes and midfielder Corry Evans are expected to be drafted in as well, but we don’t think they will make a lot of difference.

Key Factors to Consider

• Germany recorded five straight wins over Northern Ireland
• Norn Iron failed to score in three of their last four meetings
• Northern Ireland had two shots on goal vs Germany at Euro 2016
• They failed to score in five of last seven games
• Germany enjoyed two 3-0 wins in the 2018 World Cup qualifiers

Conclusion

Just as Michael O’Neill pointed out, Germany have produced perfect response to the Euro 2016 failure, and we fully expect them to continue in the same manner. With Northern Ireland’s attacking problems well documented, we are backing Die Mannschaft to win without conceding.

Verdict: Germany to win to nil

Best Odds: 1/2

Bookmaker: bet365