Rep. Ireland v Armenia
27 September 1945hrs
Football – Europe – Nations League
Pick Rep Ireland AH-1
Bookmaker bet365
Odds: 1.52 odds taken 1236 GMT, Monday 26th September
Tuesday evening brings us further action from the Nations League and features this upcoming basement clash in League B/Group 1 between 3rd placed Republic of Ireland and their 4th placed visitors, Armenia, when the two teams face off at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin with the hosts looking to avoid defeat and therefore confirm their survival, while Armenia know that this is a ‘must win’ game for them if they’re to avoid relegation.
Table of Contents
Rep. Ireland Preview – Can Irish clinch League B survival?
After five group matches in Group 1, it all comes down to this final match day clash with Armenia to determine whether Stephen Kenny’s side can achieve survival in the second tier of the Nations League and although the hosts have managed to win just once to date in this season’s campaign, Republic of Ireland do hold home advantage for this crucial encounter.
Overall, it’s been a fairly miserable campaign so far for the hosts whose only real highlight to date in the group stages was a comprehensive 3-0 home win over the group leaders, Scotland, at the Aviva Stadium, but defeats to each of the other nations, Armenia, Ukraine and Scotland have prevented the Irish from confirming their League B status.
Republic of Ireland did pick up what could prove to be a pivotal point away at Ukraine by holding their hosts to a 1-1 draw in Poland in one of their two away games on the trot (losing the other one 2-1 at Scotland), but they now return to home soil for Tuesday night’s clash where they thumped Scotland last time out.
Previous exchanges between Republic of Ireland and Armenia have been fairly limited but the Irish have won two of the previous three meetings against their visitors and Kenny’s side will be confident that they can get the job done at the Aviva Stadium on Tuesday evening as they look to secure their place in League B for the next campaign.
Republic of Ireland coach, Stephen Kenny, will be forced to make at least one change for this clash as Josh Cullen is suspended following two yellow cards, with either Alan Browne or Jeff Hendrick deputising.
Armenia Preview – Can Armenia claim survival at the death?
Armenia produced an encouraging start to their Nations League campaign as the visitors registered an opening 1-0 home win against Tuesday night’s upcoming opponents, Republic of Ireland, to get the hosts off to the perfect start but subsequent results have seen Armenia slump to four defeats on the trot which has resulted in them sitting bottom of Group 1.
The visitors were unable to maintain their early momentum and they have since spiralled out of control with four defeats on the trot being inflicted upon them in the shape of losses against Scotland home and away and home and away losses to Ukraine, leaving them with no choice but to need all three points in this final match day away at Aviva Stadium.
Armenia had previously put together a six-match unbeaten run in the Nations League competition which consisted of four wins and two draws with the highlights being wins recorded against Estonia, Georgia, North Macedonia and Republic of Ireland, but the recent losses may be weighing heavily on the visitors’ minds ahead of this vital encounter.
Results on the road have also been fairly ordinary though as Armenia have managed to win just twice in their last eight outings on their travels in the Nations League which includes four defeats while also failing to keep a single clean sheet on the road at this level, and this may prove to be a factor in deciding the outcome of this final group game in Dublin.
Armenia manager, Joaquin Caparros is set to welcome back Arman Hovhannisyan and Kamo Hovhannisyan after being suspended for their red cards against Scotland.
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Rep. Ireland v Armenia
Key Facts – Rep. Ireland v Armenia Tip
- Rep. Ireland thumped leaders Scotland 3-0 in their last home game
- Armenia have lost their last 4 games on the trot in the Nations League
- Rep. Ireland have won 2 of the previous 3 meetings v Armenia
This looks like being a pretty tense affair between two nations who have both struggled in this season’s Nations League campaign but holding home advantage as well as winning two of the previous three meetings against Armenia, it’s the hosts, Republic of Ireland that look set to gain the upper hand here and confirm their League B status for another campaign.
The best betting odds for Rep. Ireland v Armenia
Rep Ireland to win: 1.33 at bet365
Draw: 4.75 at bet365
Armenia to win: 9.50 at bet365
