Prediction: Republic of Ireland vs Northern Ireland

Prediction: Draw

Best Odds: 21/10

Bookmaker: bet365

The international break is upon us once again to the annoyance and frustration of football fans around the world, but despite the fact that everything seems pretty doom and gloom, it still feels like there’s a lot to be excited about as we look ahead to the next series of friendlies and UEFA Nations League encounters. One such friendly that has caught the eye of many, which is hardly surprising, is the encounter between Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland as many ponder what kind of game we’re going to see in Dublin.

Republic of Ireland

The Republic of Ireland were once considered to be one of the rising stars of European football on an international level, but over the last few years they seem to have taken more than a few steps backwards. Still, they came within touching distance of qualifying for the World Cup last year, although many would rather choose to focus on the fact that they failed when push came to shove. There’s still room for growth in this squad, but they may need to start thinking outside of the box in terms of their squad selections.

Team News

Robbie Brady and Seamus Coleman are expected to return to the starting XI, but Shane Long will miss out through injury.

Northern Ireland

Northern Ireland surprised everyone during the qualification period for the 2018 FIFA World Cup, and they were actually tipped to reach the finals by quite a few pundits. Alas, it wasn’t meant to be, and over the course of their last handful of games they’ve been unable to maintain the kind of momentum that they once had. They’ve still got a great deal of heart but they need to be able to match that up with some quality, and in comparison to other nations of their stature, they seem to be lacking.

Team News

Niall McGinn, Gareth McAuley and Jamie Ward will return for this one, with Kyle Lafferty also being tipped to start.

Factors to Consider

• The game will be played at the Republic of Ireland’s Aviva Stadium.
• Republic of Ireland lead the overall head to head standings 4-2, with two draws.
• In their last meeting back in May 2011, Northern Ireland lost 5-0 to Republic of Ireland.
• ROI have won one, drawn two and lost three of their last six games.
• NI have won one, drawn one and lost four of their last six games.

Conclusion

Things are going to be feisty in this one and there’s no real way around that, purely based on the history between these two nations. It’s a brave idea to situate a friendly of this nature in the middle of the season because who knows what kind of injuries may be picked up, but in terms of the game itself, we think it’s going to be something of a stalemate. Northern Ireland will get a somewhat fortunate opener and hold onto the lead until late in the second half, when the hosts will equalise to leave us with a final scoreline of 1-1.

Prediction: Draw

Best Odds: 21/10

Bookmaker: bet365