Republic of Ireland welcome Finland to the Aviva Stadium in Dublin for their penultimate League B Group 2 fixture in the UEFA Nations League on Thursday evening.
Both nations are at risk of suffering relegation to League C and they meet again just over a month on from the Boys in Green winning 2-1 in Helsinki.
Match preview
© Imago
Since the appointment of Icelandic head coach Heimir Hallgrimsson, the Republic of Ireland have won one and lost three of their first four Nations League matches, although that solitary victory was the aforementioned success over Finland in the reverse fixture.
The Boys in Green were hoping to follow up that win in Helsinki with another over Greece, but they were beaten 2-0 in Athens by the League B Group 2 leaders and subsequently remain third in the current standings, leaving them in danger of relegation to League C.
Ireland will avoid an automatic demotion from League B if they secure at least a point against Finland on Thursday, but a likely third-placed finish will force them to enter the relegation playoffs next year. They currently sit six points behind second-placed England with just two games left to play and face the Three Lions at Wembley on Sunday.
Ranked 63rd in the world by FIFA, Ireland must improve their form in the final third on home soil if they wish to prevail on Thursday, as they have failed to score in eight of their last 10 Nations League home matches, losing five of them.
Finland, meanwhile, have scored in six of their previous 11 Nations League away games, including one goal scored by Fredrik Jensen in a slender 1-0 victory over the Republic of Ireland in September 2020 when both nations were competing in League B, as they are now.
Markku Kanerva, who has been in charge of Finland since December 2016, has endured a disappointing 2024 as his team have won one, drawn one and lost six of their eight fixtures in all competitions, conceding at least two goals in seven of those matches.
Finland's third successive campaign in League B is in serious danger of ending with relegation, as they have lost all four matches in Group 2 and must beat the Republic of Ireland on Thursday if they are to stand a chance of avoiding an automatic demotion to League C.
The Eagle-owls let a one-goal lead slip to lose 2-1 at home to the Republic of Ireland on matchday three, with Robbie Brady scoring an 88th-minute winner for the visitors, before England came away from Helsinki with all three points following a 3-1 victory on October 13.
Ranked 66th in the world by FIFA and just three places below the Republic of Ireland, Finland travel to Dublin on Thursday seeking to avoid losing five consecutive games in a row for the first time since October 1994.
Team News
© Imago
Republic of Ireland will be without captain Seamus Coleman, Shane Duffy and Adam Idah as they have all withdrawn from this month's squad due to injury, while Robbie Brady and Chiedozie Ogbene are also in the treatment room.
Premier League trio Matt Doherty, Jake O'Brien and Ryan Manning have all been called up as a result, and the defensive trio are in contention to start at right-back, centre-back and left-back respectively.
Josh Cullen and Jason Knight are set to continue in centre-midfield, while Troy Parrott, Sammie Szmodics and Mikey Johnston will all be pushing to start in the final third alongside central striker Evan Ferguson.
As for Finland, Fredrik Jensen, Adam Stahl, Tomas Galvez, Leo Vaisanen, Leo Walta and Topi Keskinen have all been left out of Kanerva's squad after featuring in last month's senior setup.
Bayer Leverkusen goalkeeper Lukas Hradecky is just four caps away from reaching 100 for his country and is expected to start between the sticks, while 125-cap Teemu Pukki - Finland's all-time record goalscorer (42) - is hoping to force his way into the first XI having begun as a substitute in all four Nations League fixtures.
However, either Benjamin Kallman or Joel Pohjanpalo - who scored against Ireland last month - is expected to start as the central striker, while Glen Kamara and Rasmus Schuller are both set to play in centre-midfield.
Republic of Ireland possible starting lineup:
Kelleher; O'Shea, Collins, Scales, Manning; Cullen, Knight; Johnston, Szmodics; Parrott, Ferguson
Finland possible starting lineup:
Hradecky; Alho, Hoskonen, Ivanov, Uronen; Schuller, Pelota, Kamara; Antman, Pohjanpalo, Lod
We say: Republic of Ireland 1-0 Finland
There is a lot riding on the fixture for both nations as they bid to avoid relegation from League B. Neither side have looked particularly strong going forward, so a low-scoring affair could be on the cards in Dublin. Nevertheless, we are backing the home side to edge this one as they did in last month's reverse fixture.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Oliver Thomas
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