Republic Of Ireland Fancied To Maintain Group B Leadership Against Slovakia

This game could well be a decider in Group B despite the presence of Russia in the group, all three of those teams are currntly sitting on 13 points at the top of the qualifying group with only goal difference keeping Republic Of Ireland top of the pile currently. This means that not only is three points a must for this home match, but every extra goal Republic Of Ireland can score in this fixture could be crucial for their chances of qualifying for Euro 2012. Republic Of Ireland will certainly want to avoid the playoffs this time around with the knockout qualification method not being kind on Ireland in recent years.

 

Ireland have had some major injury problems in recent friendlies but it is a credit to the strength of the squad that they have still managed to field talented sides in those matches. The biggest absentee for this match is probably Keith Fahey but other than that the availability for Republic of Ireland is strong with Trapattoni able to select both Robbie Keane and Kevin Doyle in attack which could be a big bonus, Keane is currently one of the top scorers in the Euro 2012 qualifying with five goals from six games. Players who struggled with injuries last season such as Damien Duff and Stephen Hunt are both back in the squad whilst goalkeeper Shay Given could be even sharper now that he is getting first team football at Aston Villa.

 

Both teams come into this game in strong form, Republic If Ireland had gained four wins on the bounce before being held to a goalless draw against Croatia recently. In that time they beat Italy and won away in Macedonia and that amounts to stronger form than Slovakia's recent wins against Andorra and Austria. This Republic Of Ireland team is very talented and has added plenty of consistency so it is difficult to overlook the home win at nice odds.