Republic of Ireland v Macedonia
Football : Euro 2012 Qualifier
Saturday 26 March 2011 - Kickoff 7:45pm
This game is live on TV

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Republic of Ireland

The Republic of Ireland did not really receive the luck of the draw when being placed with Slovakia and Russia, but after the first few games of the group, Giovanni Trappatoni's men must surely feel they can cause a surprise and separate the two favourites in the group and at least reach a Play Off scenario.

Ireland come into this round of fixtures with 7 points on the board, and their goal difference means they are 2nd in the group, with only Russia ahead of them on 9 points. They will have felt better after earning a point in Slovakia just days after losing to Russia at home. Ireland won their other home game against Andorra by a 3-1 scoreline.

There are a few injuries to contend with as experienced players like Shay Given and John O'Shea miss out. Trappatoni has also confirmed he will continue with a 4-4-2 formation that was heavily criticised in the loss to Russia.

Richard Dunne and Damien Duff are expected to start and Robbie Keane will partner Kevin Doyle up front. Kieron Westwood will play in goal and Darren O'Dea will partner Dunne at centre half.

Macedonia

Macedonia must be used to playing against sides from across the Channel in Europe after being drawn with England, Scotland and Ireland in recent seasons. They have proved to be a tough outfit to crack, but they still struggle to make a long term impact in a qualifying group, and this season looks to be shaping up in the same manner.

The team are 5th in a group containing 6 teams after starting their campaign with 4 points from the 12 on offer. That already leaves them in a tough position to qualify or finish 2nd from the group. Macedonia beat Andorra away from home 0-2, but did suffer a close 1-0 loss in Slovakia.

The key threat of this side comes in the form of Inter Milan striker Goran Pandev. He could cause big problems for a defence that is blooding a couple of new faces into the line up and Richard Dunne will need to be at the top of his game to limit this threat.

Head to Head

This will be the third meeting between the nations since 1998, although the last of them came in qualifying for Euro 2000.

Ireland won both games at home, keeping clean sheets in both. The first ended 3-0 to the home team, the second was a closer game that ended 1-0.

Macedonia will look to their relatively recent success against England when they forced a 0-0 draw at Old Trafford in the qualifying campaign for Euro 2008.

Prediction

Ireland are rightly the favourites to do enough to secure the vital 3 points from this game, but I have a feeling the bookmakers may have underestimated the away side a little too much, so odds of 1.53 do not appeal at all.

Macedonia have proven their hard working team can provide problems for teams, and a close loss in Slovakia is testament to that. I can imagine they will set themselves to be hard to beat again, but I am not convinced they have enough to actually hold out for a big result.

Ireland are missing a few regulars in the backline and that makes them a little more vulnerable. I feel they will be able to sneak a win here though, and feel there might be a better option in picking them to win by the 1 goal.

The home nation is not one that is likely to beat a team heavily, and they even showed some issues against Andorra when winning that game 3-1. I just feel the odds on a win by 1 goal will keep the interest much better than trying to get through a 90 minute game with the nerves jangling if backing 1.53 for the straight win. Minimum stakes though.

The Statistics :

The Pick :

Republic of Ireland 2-1 Macedonia

FIXED ODDS BETTING :

I'll back English Handicap Draw (same as Republic of Ireland to win by 1 goal) @ 3.5 BetFred (1 UNIT)

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