Prediction: Turkey vs Ireland

Verdict: Draw

Best Odds: 11/5

Bookmakers: bet365

While most of the international break matches will feature teams who are heading to the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia, this one will not. Turkey and Ireland both missed out on a place in the tournament in heartbreaking fashion, and now, they’ll be attempting to restore some dignity ahead of the 2020 European Championships qualification phase later this year.

Turkey

The Turks have an inconsistent history within the world of international tournaments, as they tend to be a bit hot and cold with their track record. In terms of the World Cup, however, they slumped to fourth place in a group that included beatable sides like Kosovo, Croatia and Finland. Now, they’ll be aiming to rebuild and bring back some of the pride felt during their glory days.

This Turkey team is starting to fill up with young and hungry talent, as the more experienced names begin to fall out of favour. Looking ahead to the 2020 Euros they could be a team to watch, especially given how passionate the facts are and have been in the past. They’ll be dynamic, creative, and we can see them causing Ireland a lot of problems.

Team News

Arda Turan probably won’t be featured, although the likes of Calhanoglu and Tosun will likely be fit enough to start.

Ireland

Following their victory over Wales a few months back, it seemed as if the Irish were destined to book a place on the plane to Russia 2018. Alas, it wasn’t meant to be, as Denmark ran out convincing winners over their two-legged affair to ensure that Martin O’Neill’s men would spend another summer watching the tournament from home.

Still, where there’s a will there’s a way, and Ireland will look at this game as a huge opportunity to prove to the world they’ve still got some fire left in them. They’ll look to frustrate Turkey from a defensive standpoint, and if the opportunity comes to them, you can bet that they’ll utilise their counter-attacking ability in order to gain the advantage over the hosts.

Team News

Arter, Kelly, Westwood, Cunningham and more have all been ruled out for the Irish, with McClean and Long looking set to lead the way for the boys in green.

Key Factors to Consider

• The game will take place in Antalya, which is located eight hours south of Istanbul.
• Turkey will play again on Tuesday against Montenegro, meanwhile, this is Ireland’s only game until May.
• Ireland have won just four of their last 11 games in all competitions.
• Turkey have lost their last two games, which were friendlies against Romania and Albania, meanwhile the Irish haven’t played since losing their World Cup playoff against Denmark.
• Ireland have lost just two of their 13 matches against Turkey.

Conclusion

Turkey probably have more quality from top to bottom, but this’ll be Ireland’s only real chance to make a statement as a collective unit over the next few months. The visitors will be under pressure from the very beginning, but we can see them sneaking a 1-1 draw courtesy of a set piece.

Verdict: Draw

Best Odds: 11/5

Bookmakers: bet365