Ireland face a tough battle on Sunday when they play host to Group D leaders Poland. Republic of Ireland head coach Martin O'Neill won't have an easy time selecting his starting eleven: midfielder Darron Gibson is missing with a groin injury, but James McClean and Stephen Ward both have made their return to training on Friday. David Forde and Shay Given for a place in goal while Robbie Keane would surely want to be starting the match after being on the bench last time out.
Ireland are currently fourth in the group table after being beaten by Scotland in November, but if they beat Poland they would be tied with the current group leaders on 10 points. Poland need at least a draw to make sure they remain top of the table after this round of matches.
Marcin Komorowski, Rafal Janicki, Maciej Rybus could all make the starting eleven for Poland, while star striker Robert Lewandowski will be hoping to continue his prolific form after bagging six goals in seven games for his club.
Probable line-ups:
Republic of Ireland: Forde - Coleman, Ward, O'Shea, McShane - McGeady, Hendrick, McClean, McCarthy - Keane, Walters
Poland: Szczesny - Janicki, Komorowski, Szukala, Glik - Mila, Rybus, Maczynski, Krychowia - Lewandowski, Milik
My prediction: 1-1 draw.
Here are the odds for the match at Bet365:
Ireland win - 13/8 Draw - 11/5 Poland win - 2/1
Johnajax 8 years ago
I predicted draw and it happened but it was 1-1. I knew that it will be hard for Poland to win here special because of great defend which have Republic of Ireland. They play English style of football special with defenders and it is very very hard for every team to win at their stadium. At the end Ireland had a lot of luck...
I predicted draw and it happened but it was 1-1. I knew that it will be hard for Poland to win here special because of great defend which have Republic of Ireland. They play English style of football special with defenders and it is very very hard for every team to win at their stadium. At the end Ireland had a lot of luck and score that late goal but I think that they are deserved this draw.
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mdacic 8 years ago
One more time Republic of Ireland score in last minute and get one point. They done that versus Germany and last night they do that again. Poland was better whole game and I think that they deserved win here, but they didn't have luck. But still this is great result for Poland and I think that they will be second in this...
One more time Republic of Ireland score in last minute and get one point. They done that versus Germany and last night they do that again. Poland was better whole game and I think that they deserved win here, but they didn't have luck. But still this is great result for Poland and I think that they will be second in this group at the end and they will qualify for EURO.
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Johnajax 8 years ago
I think that tonight we will see one tough match with small number of goals and my prediction is draw 0-0. Ireland is great at home and I think that this is reason why they can do something here. If this match is in Poland I think that Poland will be big favorite but in Ireland it will be hard for Poland to score because...
I think that tonight we will see one tough match with small number of goals and my prediction is draw 0-0. Ireland is great at home and I think that this is reason why they can do something here. If this match is in Poland I think that Poland will be big favorite but in Ireland it will be hard for Poland to score because Ireland have great defenders and at home it will be very hard to score even for Robert Lewandowski.
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sharpe 8 years ago
Ireland is always a very tough opponents for every team at home and I won't be surprised at all if they win this game. Germany and Poland are the big favorites to qualified directly from that group but still I think Ireland have a big chance in the today's game and I feel inclined to place a bet for a home side.
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seculla 9 years ago
In this group there will be just four national teams to fight to qualify to Euro Cup 2016. Poland started very well, they won Gibraltar and Georgia and also they won against World Cup winners Germany. On the other side, Republic of Ireland also started well, and they have 7 points, same as Scotland and Germany. So I think...
In this group there will be just four national teams to fight to qualify to Euro Cup 2016. Poland started very well, they won Gibraltar and Georgia and also they won against World Cup winners Germany. On the other side, Republic of Ireland also started well, and they have 7 points, same as Scotland and Germany. So I think that this will be tough match and even tougher to predict. Anyway, I'll bet on Poland, because in my opinion they have better players in their team.
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