Republic of Ireland vs Germany
Competition: UEFA Euro Qualifying
Match date: Thursday, 8 October 2015
Kick Off Time: 19:45 BST - 8:45 PM
Venue: Aviva Stadium,
Dublin,
Ireland
Referee: Carlos Velasco Carballo
Republic of Ireland team are on a four-match unbeaten run, having beaten Gibraltar and
Georgia in the last round of fixtures. As consequence, they were able to
close the gap to Poland in second place to two points. A draw is the
minimum requirement for Ireland against the current World Champions.
O'Neil
could lean towards a more compact 4-4-2 formation as he will be without
James McClean and Glenn Whelan, who are both suspended. Everton right
back Seamus Coleman is also going to miss the match and Stoke defender
Marc Wilson is also sidelined. Wes Hoolahan is a doubt with a heel
injury.
Germany suffered from a World Cup hangover at the start of this
qualifying campaign, losing in Poland and drawing at home to Ireland but
they enter this match on the back of five consecutive qualification
wins, with 19 goals scored in that period. Die Mannschaft need only a
draw at the Aviva Stadium to be certain of clinching a place at next
year’s finals in France.
Joachim Low has a healthy squad to pick
from as Reus is back in contention. Boateng and Hummels will anchor the defence, with Emre Can and Jonas Hector
operating in the full-back positions. Mesut Ozil, Mario Gotze and Thomas
Muller will operate in the final third
These two teams shared a
1-1 draw when they met in Gelsenkirchen for last year’s reverse fixture.
However, when the Germans last travelled to Dublin, they beat
Trapattoni's Ireland 6-1. The Irish team only lost one of their last 17
European Championship Qualifiers, It was in this campaign when they lose
1-0 in Scotland. If Poland beat Scotland in their direct match, then
Ireland will be guaranteed a play-off.
Probable lineups:
Ireland: Given – Coleman, O’Shea, McShane, Brady – McCarthy, Walters, Hoolahan, McClean – S. Long, R. Keane.
Germany: Neuer – Ginter, Boateng, Hummels, Hector – Schweinsteiger, T. Kroos – Bellarabi, Gundogan, M. Gotze – T. Muller.