Wales make the short trip to the Aviva Stadium to face the Republic of Ireland on Sunday, as the 2020/21 UEFA Nations League resumes.
Wales are sitting top of Group B4 following back-to-back wins, while Ireland are third with just a single point to their name.
A difficult night but plenty of positives for the future 💚Stick with us, we'll get there 🇮🇪#SVKIRL | #COYBIG pic.twitter.com/Q9J5O5tJrs— FAIreland ⚽️🇮🇪 (@FAIreland) October 8, 2020
A difficult night but plenty of positives for the future 💚Stick with us, we'll get there 🇮🇪#SVKIRL | #COYBIG pic.twitter.com/Q9J5O5tJrs
The Irish suffered a disappointing penalty shootout loss to Slovakia last time out, which saw the nation bow out of the European Championship qualifiers.
Despite registering 13 shots on Thursday, Stephen Kenny’s side failed to make the most of their chances and were eventually beaten 4-2 on penalties.
Ireland kicked off their Nations League campaign with a 1-1 draw to Bulgaria at the beginning of September, with Shane Duffy scoring an injury-time equaliser.
However, they were beaten 1-0 by Finland a few days later, despite enjoying the majority of possession on that occasion.
Ireland’s last victory came in a friendly match against New Zealand 11 months ago, but they haven’t won a competitive game since beating Gibraltar back in June 2019.
Wales also tasted defeat in their previous outing, although their 3-0 friendly loss to England won’t hurt half as much as Ireland’s penalty shootout heartbreak.
Ryan Giggs’ under-strength team gave a decent account of themselves at Wembley, but they were ultimately outplayed by a stronger side.
Still, when it comes to the Nations League, Wales have a perfect record this year. Successive 1-0 victories over Finland and Bulgaria have put them three points clear at the top of Group B4.
In fact, having topped their Euro qualifying group, Wales have won each of their previous four competitive games and are unbeaten in their last eight.
Head-to-head: Ireland and Wales have faced each other four times since 2017, with Wales losing on just one occasion.
The nations drew 0-0 before Ireland beat Wales 1-0 in World Cup qualifying back in 2017, while Wales thrashed Ireland 4-1 at home and claimed a 1-0 away win in last season’s Nations League.
Team news: Josh Cullen has been called up by Ireland following Harry Arter’s withdrawal from the squad. However, Burnley’s Kevin Long misses out.
Wales could be without Cardiff striker Kieffer Moore after he went off injured in the friendly defeat against England in midweek.
Both these countries have struggled for goals in recent games, so this is likely to be a low-scoring affair with limited clear-cut chances.
Forebet predicts that a goalless draw is the most likely outcome when Ireland host Wales on Sunday.