The Republic of Ireland return home after their heartbreak in Faro and host Azerbaijan in their fourth fixture of the 2022 FIFA World Cup qualifiers in front of home fans at the Aviva Stadium.
The Group A showdown means one of the sides will finally get points on the board after both teams suffered losses to Portugal, Serbia and Luxembourg.
Stephen Kenny’s Republic of Ireland side came close in their last match against Portugal after two disappointing opening games against Serbia and Luxembourg but it was not to be.
Our match report detailed an Ireland that had cohesion in defence and offered threats up top via the vision of their midfield.
More of the same will be expected against an Azerbaijan side who have given up at least twice as many shots as they have taken in each of their three other qualifying games.
They will hope to get their second win under the former Dundalk and Ireland U21 boss against the side ranked 112th in the world.
Ireland have announced their team for today’s game, which sees Ronan Curtis, Alan Browne and Callum Robinson all make a return to the matchday 23.
Ireland’s full-backs will once again be crucial to their performance – the duo of Seamus Coleman and Matt Doherty will retain their spots after the Portugal match.
Norwich City’s Andrew Omibamidele made his debut for the national side after he came on in Dara O’Shea’s place after the latter centre-half was forced off through injury.
Omibamidele impressed and will appear again on the bench for the Republic of Ireland as the formation shifts from a 3-5-2 to a 4-4-2.
Giovanni De Biasi’s side tends to set up defensively but do deploy wing-backs and can offer a threat in the final third if given the chance.
Lineups
Republic of Ireland (4-4-2): Bazunu; Coleman, Duffy, Egan, Doherty; Connolly, Cullen, Molumby, McClean; Idah, Parrott.
Subs: Kelleher, Talbot, Manning, Hourihane, Robinson, Hendrick, Browne, Horgan, McGrath, Collins, Curtis, Omibamidele.
Azerbaijan (4-3-3): Mahammadaliyev; Medvedev (C), Haghverdi, Camalov, Kryvotsiuk; Mahmudov, Qarayev, Bayramov; Alasgarov, Emreli, Ozobic.
Subs: Salahli, Mustafayev, Ahmadzada, Seydayev, Cannatov, Huseynov, Mustafazada, Nuriyev, Khalilzada, Ibrahimli, Sadykhov, Bayramov.
Odds
Republic of Ireland 1/2
Draw 11/4
Azerbaijan 6/1
TV Coverage
Kick-off for the match is at 5:00 pm with RTÉ 2 broadcasting the game – their coverage begins at 4 pm.
