Ireland v Armenia predictions: Goals likely in a home win

Free football tips, best bets and analysis for Ireland v Armenia in the Nations League on Tuesday.

Where to watch

Premier Sports 2 & RTE 2, 7.45pm Tuesday

Best bets

Ireland to win and over 2.5 goals
2pts 13-10 general

Nathan Collins to score at any time
1pt 9-1 bet365

Team news

Ireland
Josh Cullen is suspended after picking up a yellow card against Scotland, the rest of the squad are fit.

Armenia
Arman Hovhannisyan and Kamo Hovhannisyan will be available after serving one game bans for their red cards against Scotland.

Match preview

Ireland suffered arguably the worst result of manager Stephen Kenny’s reign as they were beaten 1-0 by Armenia in June and the sides meet in this Nations League finale with the hosts able to relegate their visitors by avoiding a repeat defeat.

Since that unlikely victory Armenia have registered four losses in a row against the other two members of the group, Scotland and Ukraine, scoring just once and conceding 14 in the process.

Ireland have endured a mixed bag following that shock result, with a 3-0 victory over Scotland the highlight. They also picked up a 1-1 draw with Ukraine and were a shade unlucky to be beaten 2-1 by Scotland on Saturday after taking the lead and missing a gilt-edged second half chance through Troy Parrott.

If this is an Irish forward line in need of a confidence boost, there could be worse opponents than Armenia, who have conceded 32 goals in their last nine matches.

The hosts can turn on the style going forward, as seen in their trio of 3-0 wins in their last ten matches.

Kenny’s squad will of course prioritise the victory that will see them avoid Nations League relegation, but racking up a high-scoring win against lesser opponents will do nothing but build confidence in this young squad.

Nathan Collins opened his account for his nation against Ukraine in June and at 9-1 looks overpriced to find the net again. The Wolves defender was involved in Ireland’s set-piece goal against Scotland and could make his aerial dominance pay once more.

Key stat

Armenia have conceded 32 goals in their last nine games

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