Republic of Ireland host Lithuania in an international friendly on Tuesday. The Irish have shown some good form and should have too much for the visitors who often struggle against the bigger names in Europe.
Having missed out on the Qatar 2022 World Cup, Republic of Ireland are looking to build some momentum ahead of the UEFA Nations League which kicks off in June. They have shown some good form lately and are unbeaten in their last seven matches across all competitions.
Republic of Ireland head into Tuesday’s clash off the back of a 2-2 draw with Belgium in another international friendly. Manager Stephen Kenny will consider that result another pointer to the fact that they can go toe-to-toe with the top sides having recently held their own against the likes of Portugal and Serbia.
While the Irish tend to run the top sides close, they also tend to show their superior quality over the lower ranked teams. Among their recent results are a couple of 3-0 victories over Azerbaijan and Luxembourg while they also won 4-0 over World Cup hosts Qatar.
Lithuania travel to the Aviva Stadium off the back of a 2-1 victory over San Marino in an international friendly. They raced to a two-goal lead through Augustinas Klimavicius and Linas Megalaitis before the hosts pulled one back.
While manager Valdas Ivanauskas will be pleased with that result, Lithuania are often among the whipping boys in Europe. They concluded their World Cup qualifying campaign with just one win from eight matches which was only good enough for a bottom place finish in their group.
Lithuania are also generally poor travellers, the win in San Marino was only their first on the road in the last eight away matches. They have lost in the previous seven away fixtures, failing to score in six matches in that run.
How the bookies view it
The bookies have Republic of Ireland as overwhelming favourites with a home win priced at 10/29 with SBK. An unlikely victory for Lithuania is valued at 9/1 by Coral while a draw is set at odds of 39/10 with Sport Nation.
Head to head
Republic of Ireland have never lost to Lithuania, claiming three wins and a draw from four previous matches. The last meeting between both teams was a World Cup qualifying fixture in 1997 which the Irish won 2-1.
Players to watch
Republic of Ireland are usually organised and will take confidence from the shutout against Portugal. They have also kept four clean sheets in their last five matches and the central defensive pair of John Egan and Shane Duffy can ensure a repeat at 4/5 with bet365.
At the other end of the pitch, Callum Robinson will be the one to watch for Northern Ireland having scored six times in his last five international matches. The striker is priced at 7/5 by bet365 to get on the score sheet on Tuesday.
Anything else catch the eye?
Republic of Ireland boast a superior attack and given their recent results against some of the lower ranked teams, a -1 handicap could be considered at evens with William Hill. Their solid defensive record also means a win to nil could also be on the cards at evens with Paddy Power.
The Irish are expected to be dominant on Tuesday and can be tipped to score in both halves at 6/5 with Coral.
This International Friendly match between Republic of Ireland and Lithuania will be played on Mar 29, 2022 and kick off at 19:45. Check below for our tipsters best Republic of Ireland vs Lithuania prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
