Tight contest likely as Ireland aim to snuff out weakened Wales

Nations League
Sky Sports Football & Main Event/S4C, 7.45pm Tuesday

Denmark huffed and puffed but failed to blow down Ireland’s defences on Saturday and it may be too much to expect a Wales side missing Gareth Bale to have any more joy.

Just a month after Wales kicked off their Nations League B Group 4 campaign with a 4-1 hammering of the Irish at home, the countries meet again at the Aviva Stadium with an altogether different outcome expected.

Bale and Aaron Ramsey, the two world-class operatives in the Welsh camp and architects of last month’s drubbing in Cardiff, are both absent for the return fixture.

And, as Denmark found out at the weekend minus Christian Eriksen, when top players are missing the newly reinforced green-and-white defences take some bulldozing.

Denmark hardly got a sight of Darren Randolph’s goal, foundering against a 3-5-1-1 formation which featured Cyrus Christie in midfield and James McClean at wing-back. It was unconventional from O’Neill, and clearly something of a gamble, but after shipping nine goals in their two previous competitive fixtures something needed to be done.

While a 0-0 draw did little for Ireland’s promotion hopes, it did at least steady the ship.

They offered virtually nothing going forward with the out-of-form Shane Long feeding off scraps as usual, but a new-found solidity at the back is at least something to crow about.

The upshot is that a fourth goalless draw in the last nine meetings between these sides cannot be ruled out. Certainly the draw looks the bigger runner of the three match results, so it is hardly a surprise that the stalemate is a best-priced 21-10.

Having an interest at under 1.5 goals at 6-4 might not be a bad alternative.

Only two men in the Ireland squad boast more than two international goals and one of them, Long, has scored just twice in his last 68 appearances for club and country.

O’Neill could well be tempted to throw in Aiden O’Brien or Callum Robinson, the duo who started last month’s 1-1 draw with Poland with Millwall's O’Brien scoring the goal that night.

Sam Vokes is the only available Wales player to have scored more than three times in national colours. The Burnley bruiser does at least enjoy the lone frontman role and if he can get support from David Brooks and Tom Lawrence then Ryan Giggs’s raiders could potentially be more troublesome than the Danes were.

Wales, who have won two in nine, are clear outsiders given the significance of losing not only Bale but also Ramsey.

Recommendation
Under 1.5 goals
1pt 6-4 general

Bet on this game at Soccerbase.com

Team news
Ireland
Callum O’Dowda, concussed against Denmark, won’t play. Captain Seamus Coleman, Jon Walters and Stephen Ward were already ruled out.

Wales
Aaron Ramsey has joined Gareth Bale on the sidelines. Ethan Ampadu and Chris Mepham are other absentees for the visitors.

Key stat
Ireland have scored just one first-half goal in their last 11 internationals.

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