NORTHERN IRELAND begin their Nations League campaign in Belfast on Thursday when they welcome Greece to Windsor Park.
For Ian Baraclough, it's a chance to wipe the slate clean after a fairly underwhelming World Cup qualification campaign where they were never realistically in the hunt to qualify, finishing in third place behind Switzerland and Italy.
However, they did have a significant role to play after they dug out a goalless draw at home to Italy which prevented the Azzurri from qualifying automatically and threw the Euro 2020 winners into a disastrous play-off route which saw them lose out to North Macedonia.
Greece fared little better. Needing six points from their final pair of qualifiers to have a chance, they collected just one – a home draw against Kosovo – and they were well behind Spain and Sweden in their group.
Since then, Nothern Ireland have played two friendlies, an away win in Luxembourg and a home defeat to Hungary. While the Greeks have won away in Romania and lost away in Montenegro, both by a 1-0 margin.
It's the start of a hectic, four-game schedule in the Nations League which could yield a play-off spot for the Euros.
How the bookies view it
Greece are 6/4 favourites with SBK, despite being away. Northern Ireland can be backed at 23/10 with Unibet and the draw is 21/10 with bet365.
Recent head to heads
The last time the sides met was a historic moment as Northern Ireland secured their place at the Euro 2016 finals with a 3-1 home win over Greece as can be seen below.
The nations have met seven times and Northern Ireland have won three times and there have been four Greek wins. There has never been a draw.
Players to watch
Rangers star Steven Davis looks set to sign a new deal at Ibrox and the 37-year-old will win his 135th cap for his country when he captains his side. He is a big price at 14/1 with Paddy Power to mark it with a goal.
Greece's squad are not blessed with a lot of goalscorers – their top scorer only has five goals. Celtic striker Giorgos Giakoumakis ended the season on fire at Parkhead and could be value at 12/5 with bet365 to score.
Anything else catch the eye?
Neither country are reliable, but they look fairly well matched and the hosts look overpriced at 23/10. Baraclough has a full squad to choose from and has insisted they see this as a chance to kick on.
They face a Greek side who won just two of their eight World Cup ties and are poor travellers. They struggled for goals and it's hard to see them hugely motivated for an end-of-season trip to Belfast.
It's unlikely to be a thriller either. Both sides have seen over 2.5 goals land only twice in their last eight matches. In fact, in both nations' last four games, three of them each have seen only one goal or less.
Bookies have covered the under 2.5 goals market at around 8/15, but the under 1.5 goals is worth a chance at 8/5 with Boylesports.
This UEFA Nations League match between Northern Ireland and Greece will be played on Jun 2, 2022 and kick off at 19:45. Check below for our tipsters best Northern Ireland vs Greece prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
