Republic of Ireland welcome Bulgaria to the Aviva Stadium for the UEFA Nations League playoff second leg. The hosts hold a slim first leg advantage, and should have the upper hand over the Bulgarians, who are struggling at the moment.
The Irish earned a 2-1 win in the first leg on Thursday with Finn Azaz and Matt Doherty getting the goals in Bulgaria. Heimir Hallgrimsson’s men have now won three of their last five matches in the Nations League.
One problem for the Republic of Ireland is their defence, which has failed to keep a clean sheet in six of their seven UNL matches. However, they often do enough at the other end of the pitch and showed their attacking quality, coming from behind to win the first leg.
Bulgaria will be disappointed to have lost the first leg after taking an early lead through Marin Petkov. Their failure to hold onto that lead means they are winless in four of their last five matches in the Nations League.
Among the away results for Bulgaria is a 5-0 defeat in Northern Ireland, although Ilian Iliev’s men claimed a 1-0 victory over Luxembourg in their previous away fixture. Poor defending has been an issue, with eight goals conceded in their last four matches.
How the bookies view it: Bookies backing Ireland
The bookies have installed the Republic of Ireland as overwhelming favourites, with BoyleSports offering odds of 6/10 for a home win. A victory for Bulgaria is priced at 9/2 while a draw is valued at 11/4.
Head to head: Ireland on top
The Republic of Ireland have a 4-3 advantage with six draws from 13 matches against Bulgaria.
Players to watch: Home Eyes on Azaz
Republic of Ireland’s Finn Azaz grabbed the equalizer in the first leg, carrying his form for Middlesbrough into the national team. The forward is priced at odds of 5/2 by BoyleSports to score anytime on Sunday.
Martin Petkov’s opener in the first leg made it four goals in the last seven matches for club and country. The forward could be worth keeping an eye on to score anytime at 8/1 with BoyleSports.
Probable line-ups
The Republic of Ireland may stick with much of the same lineup, although Troy Parrott could replace Evan Ferguson up front. Matt Doherty is set for his 50th cap alongside Dara O'Shea and Nathan Collins in defence, while Robbie Brady should retain his left-back spot.
For Bulgaria, goalkeeper Dimitar Mitov was forced off with an injury in the first leg and is likely to be replaced by Plamen Iliev. Few other changes are expected, with captain Kiril Despodov and Marin Petkov leading the attack.
Republic of Ireland: Kelleher; Doherty, Collins, O'Shea, Brady; Cullen, Knight; Johnston, Azaz, Manning; Ferguson
Bulgaria: Iliev, Nedyalkov, Atanasov, Petkov, Nurnberger, Petkov, Kraev, Gruev, Krastev, Despodov, Petkov
Anything else catch the eye?
Both teams have scored in three of the last four matches between Ireland and Bulgaria and a repeat is priced at 21/20 with BoyleSports. The reverse fixture produced over 2.5 goals, which is priced at 21/20 with BoyleSports.
Both teams scored in the first half in the reverse fixture and could be set for a similar pattern at 9/2 with BoyleSports.
This UEFA Nations League match between Republic of Ireland and Bulgaria will be played on and kick off at 19:45. Check below for our tipsters best Republic of Ireland vs Bulgaria prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
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