Hungary will travel to Dublin on Tuesday night to face Ireland in a friendly match at the Aviva Stadium as part of their preparations for Euro 2024.
The match represents their penultimate match before heading to Germany for the tournament so manager, Marco Rossi, will be keen to see some of his players in action before the serious stuff begins in a fortnight.
For Ireland, this match is another opportunity for interim boss, John O'Shea, to show the powers that be in the Irish Football Association that he is the man to lead them forward into World Cup qualifying after the European Championships.
How the bookies view it: An even match on paper
Although Hungary have Euro 2024 to look forward to and Ireland don't, the bookmakers don't believe there is too much in it in terms of quality on the pitch. Ireland are the narrow outsiders at 17/10 with Hungary priced at 13/8. If you think the two teams will cancel each other out, then the draw can be had at 21/10 via Bet365.
Recent head-to-head: A historically dull affair
This match will be broadcast live on Sky Sports in the UK, however, viewers should be advised that recent meetings between these two nations don't suggest it is a match worth tuning in for. The two most recent clashes both finished 0-0 with the last goal scored in this fixture coming way back in 1989.
Hungary haven't beaten or scored against Ireland in 55 years but they do just edge the head-to-head thanks to two victories in the seven previous meetings, compared to Ireland's one.
Players to watch: Liverpool man to dazzle in Ireland?
The most talented player on the pitch on Tuesday night will be Liverpool's Dominik Szoboszlai. The 23-year-old is the captain of Hungary and often saves his best performances for the national team so he will certainly be one to keep an eye on at the Aviva Stadium.
Szobsozlai didn't finish his debut season with Liverpool strongly but his talent is there for all to see and being the man for Hungary should bring his confidence back.
For Ireland, Troy Parrot will be one to watch after the 22-year-old finally enjoyed a successful loan spell away from Tottenham. The striker spent the campaign at Excelsior in the Eredivisie where he netted ten league goals. He ended the season with seven goals in three games which bodes well for Ireland.
Predicted lineups
O'Shea is trying to usher in a new era in Irish football by picking younger squads but his hands have been tied this week due to a number of high-profile injuries. Nathan Collins will miss out due to a knee problem while Chiedozie Ogbene, Gavin Bazunu, Evan Ferguson and John Egan are also missing.
For Hungary, they have a clean bill of health so expect Marco Rossi to use as many players as possible to ensure everyone is match-ready for the European Championships.
Ireland: Kelleher – Coleman, O'Shea, O'Brien, Stevens – Cullen, Knight – Szmodics, Johnston, Idah – Parrot
Hungary: Gulacsi – Nego, Balogh, Lang, Szalai, Kerkez – Nagy, Schafer – Sallai, Szoboszlai, Varga
Anything else catch the eye?
An interesting pattern for both nations ahead of this one revolves around goalscoring. Ireland have failed to hit the back of the net in each of their last two fixtures while Hungary have kept a clean sheet in both of their last two matches. Therefore, all the signs point towards a Hungary clean sheet at 7/4.
This International Friendly match between Ireland and Hungary will be played on Jun 4, 2024 and kick off at 19:45. Check below for our tipsters best Ireland vs Hungary prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
