Prediction: Ireland vs Greece

Verdict: Away win

Best odds: 8/5

Bookmaker: Olympusbet

Ireland will be looking to bounce back quickly after their disappointing performance against England when they host Greece at the Aviva Stadium in their second UEFA Nations League fixture.

Heimir Hallgrimsson’s tenure as head coach began on a tough note, with Ireland being comprehensively beaten by their rivals, leaving them at the bottom of Group B2.

Ireland

Ireland started their Nations League campaign in a truly disappointing fashion, losing to their neighbours across the sea in what was their first competitive clash in over 30 years. They lost 0-2, and to make matters worse, two England players who are extremely unpopular in Dublin scored the goals; Declan Rice, who played for Ireland in friendly matches before switching allegiance to England, and Jack Grealish, who represented Ireland at different youth levels. And while Rice refrained from celebrating his goal, Grealish did not.

What’s more, the scoreline could’ve been much worse for the Irish had not Caoimhin Kelleher, the backup goalkeeper at Liverpool, showed his quality to deny England on several occasions in the second half.

Ireland have now lost nine of their last 14 matches, winning three, two of which were against Gibraltar. If they now lose to Greece as well, their task of surviving in League B at the end of the campaign will become close to impossible, with trips to both London and Athens to come, as well as a double header against Finland.

Hallgrimsson’s side will, therefore, hope they can produce good results against opponents less formidable than England, starting with this match at home against Greece.

Team News

Ireland are likely to be without captain Seamus Coleman, after the Everton man limped off the pitch against England following a clash with Harry Maguire. If Hallgrimson sticks to a back-three shape, Coleman’s place could be taken by Jake O’Brien, also of Everton.

Burnley midfielder Josh Cullen is out through injury, while Brighton striker Evan Ferguson appears likely to start on the bench as he lacks proper match fitness.

Greece

The only previous competitive encounters between these teams came last years within the qualifications for Euro 2024, and Greece won on both occasions, including a 2-0 triumph in Dublin. The nation that stunned the continent in 2004, however, failed to qualify as well as they lost on penalties to Georgia in the play-offs final.

That heartbreak saw coach Gus Poyet sacked and replaced by Ivan Jovanovic, who started his tenure on a high note by leading the team to a 3-0 victory over Finland in Piraeus. Jovanovic made some big changes to the team, the most notable of which was the introduction of Fotis Ioannidis in the place of Benfica striker Vangelis Pavlidis. The 24-year-old Panathinaikos forward repaid the coach’s faith fully by scoring a brace, either side of a Benjamin Kallman own-goal.

Thanks to that result, Greece could now go on to strengthen their position in the group significantly ahead of a difficult challenge of facing England.

Team News

There should be no question about Ioannidis keeping his place in the team following his performance against Finland.

On the other hand, Anastasios Chatzigiovanis, who was given a surprise start against Finland too, is likely to be on the bench for this one, having been substituted at halftime. Jovanovic has options in Christos Tzolis and Giannis Konstantelias to replace the Eyupspor winger in the starting XI.

Goalkeeper Odysseas Vlachodimos, yet to stand between the posts for Newcastle this season, was still chosen to start ahead of Konstantinos Tzolakis, and Jovanovic probably won’t see any reason for a change in goal.

Conclusion

Given everything these teams showed in the opening round, even with the difference in quality between their opponents in mind, Greece come into the match as the side more likely to leave the Aviva Stadium smiling.

Verdict: Away win

Best odds: 8/5

Bookmaker: Olympusbet