Group 8: Ireland v Italy
Football: World Cup Qualifiers
Saturday 10th October KO 8pm

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Its second v first in Group 8 as Ireland host Italy in a game where the Italians only need a draw to guarantee top spot and their place in next years world cup.

However if Ireland win they will be only one point behind the Italians. That will mean that Italy will have to beat Cyprus next Wednesday to guarantee top spot, and if they fail to do that, an Ireland win over Montenegro in Dublin will see the Irish automatically through to next years Finals.

Although the Italians are hot favourites to top group with 2 games to go, the Irish side managed by Italian legend Giovanni Trappatoni are not giving up the fight for automatic qualification.

Bulgaria are the third placed side in the group and they are 5 points behind second place Ireland. This would mean that the expected outcome of the group would be Italy top and Ireland into the play off.

Indeed if Bulgaria fail to win in Cyprus in a game which kicks off 3 hours before this game, then Ireland will be guaranteed second spot and most likely the play off spot.

However I don't think this will alter tactics from either side. With Italian influence behind both sides we can expect defensively minded line ups and probably not too many goals.

Neither side have performed particularly well in these qualifiers despite their strong positions.

Ireland have got some good results and are undefeated despite playing poorly and had began to perform much better when getting draws away in Italy and Bulgaria this year, but only scraped through in Cyprus in a dismal display thanks to a late Robbie Keane winner, in a 2-1 victory.

The Italians played their best game in the group so far last time out when they beat Bulgaria 2-0, the highlight of which was a superb team goal finished off brilliantly by Striker Vincenzo Iaquinta.

Both sides have some injury worries. Ireland will be without winger Damien Duff while Stephen Reid is not fully fit yet. The Italians will be without their Captain Fabio Cannavaro through suspension. Cannavaro has also since failed a drug test with his club Juventus, a matter which is sure to have consequences for the Juve star.

It is still not clear yet if Gennaro Gattuso will play after he picked up a knock for his club in the Milan derby against Inter.

IRELAND RESULTS TO DATE
Georgia 1-2 Ireland
Montenegro 0-0 Ireland
Ireland 1-0 Cyprus
Ireland 2-1 Georgia
Ireland 1-1 Bulgaria
Italy 1-1 Ireland
Bulgaria 1-1 Ireland
Cyprus 1-2 Ireland

ITALY RESULTS TO DATE
Cyprus 1-2 Italy
Italy 2-0 Georgia
Bulgaria 0-0 Italy
Italy 2-1 Montenegro
Montenegro 0-2 Italy
Italy 1-1 Ireland
Georgia 0-2 Italy
Italy 2-0 Bulgaria

The Betting VERDICT

Ireland played their best game in the group against the Italians with the 1-1 draw in Bari. They will need a similar performance to get something out of this game.

However neither side would have too many complaints with a draw and I can see this being very tight with defences on top.

Take the UNDER 2.5 GOALS available at 8/15 at Paddy Powers as the main bet.

Also consider the DRAW at 2/1.

The Statistics :

The Pick :

Ireland 0-0 Italy

FIXED ODDS BETTING :

Take UNDER 2.5 GOALS as the main bet

Also consider the DRAW.