Hungary welcome the Republic of Ireland to the Puskas Arena on Sunday afternoon in what is a straight shootout for a World Cup playoff place in Group F.
Hungary made a disappointing start to their World Cup qualifying campaign, as they threw away a two-goal lead in Dublin against the Republic of Ireland – on an evening where two of my selections landed – before losing 2-3 at home to Portugal.
However, Marco Rossi’s men have taken seven points from their next three qualifiers, winning home and away against Armenia and drawing 2-2 in Lisbon.
That narrow victory in Yerevan on Thursday night keeps the Magyars in second position, just two points behind leaders Portugal, albeit they are fancied to defeat Armenia in Porto to seal top spot.
However, they still aren’t assured of a playoff spot, as The Republic of Ireland stunned Portugal at the Aviva on Thursday night thanks to a Troy Parrott brace, leaving them just a point behind in third.
However, Heimir Hallgrimsson’s men have picked up all seven of their points in Group F in front of their supporters, losing both away games against Portugal and Armenia.
How the bookies view it: Hungary favourites
Hungary are favourites to secure all three points in Budapest on Sunday afternoon, with BOYLE Sports pricing a home success at 4/5.
The same firm has priced the Republic of Ireland at 16/5 to get the win they require to secure a playoff spot, whilst the draw is 12/5.
Head to head: Recent history favours the Irish
The Republic of Ireland have lost just one of their previous eight meetings with Hungary (W3-D4-L1), with three of the last four resulting in draws.
Players to watch: Varga to bag again?
Barnabas Varga has had a sensational start to the campaign for his club side Ferencvaros, firing in an impressive 18 goals across his 22 appearances in league and Europe.
Varga has also scored four times for Hungary in this World Cup qualifying campaign – including in Dublin in the reverse fixture and the winner in Yerevan against Armenia on Thursday – and the 8/5 on offer at Bet365 for him to strike again appeals to me here.
Predicted line-ups:
Neither Hungary nor the Republic of Ireland appear to have reported any new injury concerns following their respective victories on Thursday night, so both should name similar starting line-ups.
Hungary: Dibusz, Nego, Orban, Szalai, Kerkez, Styles, Schafer, Szoboszlai, Bolla, Sallai, Varga
Republic of Ireland: Kelleher, O’Brien, Collins, O’Shea, Coleman, Cullen, Taylor, Scales, Ogbene, Azaz, Parrott
Anything else catch the eye?
Ireland know they simply have to win if they are to leapfrog Hungary into second place in the table and keep their World Cup hopes alive.
However, whilst the Irish have been strong at home, they have struggled on their travels, losing to both Armenia and Portugal.
Therefore, I like the 4/5 on offer at BOYLE Sports for a home win, whilst it’s 1/1 for the Magyars to score two or more goals, something they’ve achieved in 4/5 (80%) of their qualifiers.
GambleAware