Rep Of Ireland v England

Ireland vs England Preview

Republic of Ireland will be hoping to start their UEFA Nations League campaign off in positive fashion when they play host to England at their Aviva Stadium on Saturday evening despite being dealt a 3-0 defeat away from home at Portugal last time out in an international friendly, while England will look to dust themselves off after losing 2-1 to Spain in the Euro 2024 final along with attempting to return to League A after being relegated.

Republic of Ireland finished in third place in League B Group 1 in the previous Nations League campaign ending up four points above relegated Armenia who finished bottom of the table but the Irish found themselves six points adrift of the group winners, Scotland, so the hosts' prospects do not look particularly promising ahead of Friday night's encounter.

To further emphasise this, Republic of Ireland have managed to capture just two wins in their previous 10 games overall in all competitions which includes rare victories against Gibraltar and Hungary but they have also been handed no fewer than six defeats within this period as well.

Three of these six losses were inflicted upon Heimir Hallgrimsson's side on home soil with defeats handed out to them by Netherlands, Greece and Switzerland respectively, so the Irish look set to have their work cut out here on Saturday evening.

England once again faltered at the final hurdle in a major tournament as they lost 2-1 to Spain in the final of the recent Euro 2024 finals but although the Three Lions progressed through the group stage as well as navigating their way through the knockout rounds, the performances were not entirely convincing as they looked uncertain in front of goal.

England put together a six-match unbeaten run on their way to the final which included wins against Serbia, Slovakia (in extra-time), Switzerland (on penalties) and Netherlands along with draws against Denmark and Slovenia in the group stage.

However, England have now managed to win just three games in normal regular time in their last 12 internationals in all competitions and a new era will now unfold following the resignation of former coach Gareth Southgate with Lee Carsley appointed as the interim manager for the time being.

Carsley's task is to try and transform England into a more confident and attacking outfit but he will be without the services of forwards Cole Palmer, Ollie Watkins and Phil Foden who have all pulled out of the squad.

Nevertheless, England have lost just once in their last 10 away games, picking up six wins in the process.

Rep of Ireland v England Verdict

England recorded a 3-0 win against Republic of Ireland in the previous meeting and the Three Lions look set for another win here.

Therefore, our main bet will be England win @ 1.52

Other side bets worth considering:

England win & Under 2.5 goals @ 3.20

Correct Score: England 2-0 @ 6.50