We have a Republic of Ireland v Finland prediction for you plus a breakdown of the betting odds, team news and matchups ahead of their game on Thursday.
Heimir earned his first win in the Ireland job in the last window winning 1-2 against Finland before losing 2-0 against a valiant Greek side.
Finland ahead of this game sit bottom of the group as the only side not to win points in their opening four Nations League games.
How To Watch Republic of Ireland v Finland
When is the Republic of Ireland v Finland?
Republic of Ireland v Finland will take place on Thursday at 7.45 pm.
TV Channel
RTÉ 2 will broadcast this game with pre-match buildup from 7 pm.
Stream
If you are in Ireland you can stream this match on RTE Player.
Where is the Republic of Ireland v Finland Being Played?
As the Republic of Ireland are the designated home team for this fixture this match will be played in the Aviva Stadium in Dublin, Ireland.
Republic of Ireland v Finland Odds
Team | Odds | Chance |
|---|---|---|
Republic of Ireland | 8/13 | 35.7% |
Finland | 9/2 | 18.2% |
Draw | 5/2 | 28.6% |
The Republic of Ireland are favourites at 8/13 to win on Thursday.
Finland are outsiders with odds of 9/2 currently available and the draw is seen as a 5/2 chance.
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Handicap Betting
Republic of Ireland: -1 @ 15/8
Finland: +1 @ 5/4
Handicap Draw: -1 @ 23/10
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Republic of Ireland v Finland Preview
Republic of Ireland’s Form
There were more signs in the last International Window that the Heimir Republic could be prosperous for Irish Football following their 1-2 comeback win over Finland and their 2-0 defeat to Greece the overriding feeling following the window was that the performances seemed to have picked up with Heimir taking a more prominent position in terms of responsibility after the previous blurred lines between himself and O’Shea.
It's early days in his tenure, but if his first four games are to go by it looks like Ireland will be more pragmatic and adaptable to their opponents' strengths (or lack of them) For example in the last window he went with an attacking 4-2-31 against Finland but switched back to a 4-4-2 low block style formation against the Greeks.
Heimir has said this is the last window for “experimentation” with larger expectations on him for March, so it’ll be interesting to see if he mixes up the formation further for this game.
Republic of Ireland’s Last Five Results
Greece 2-0 Republic of Ireland | October 13th | Loss
Finland 1-2 Republic of Ireland | October 10th | Win
Republic of Ireland 0-2 Greece | September 10th | Loss
Republic of Ireland 0-2 England | September 7th | Loss
Portugal 3-0 Republic of Ireland | June 11th | Loss
4 Losses and 1 Win
Finland’s Form
Ahead of this Nations League campaign, plenty predicted that Finland could be the group designated “cannon fodder” and as of the time of writing that’s exactly what has transpired with 4 defeats from 4 matches scoring 2 goals and conceding 10 for a goal difference of -8.
Finland have been managed by Markku Kanerva since 2016 a role in which he was appointed following a five-year stint as assistant of his country from 2011-2016 and as a U21 coach for his country from 2004-2010. Though they’ve yet to win a point in the group they still have talent at their disposal including LB Galvez (19) who is under contract with Man City, talented Rennes MF Kamara (29) and veteran striker Pukki (34) who has a 1 in 3 strike rate for his country.
Defeat for Finland here would mean they’d go bottom of the group and would be guaranteed to be relegated to Nations League Group C.
Finland’s Last Five Results
Finland 1-3 England | October 13th | Loss
Finland 1-2 Republic of Ireland | October 10th | Los
England 2-0 Finland | September 10th | Loss
Greece 3-0 Finland | September 7th | Loss
Scotland 2-2 Finland | June 7th | Draw
4 Losses and 1 Draw
Republic of Ireland v Finland Predicted Lineups
Republic of Ireland Predicted Starting XI (4-2-3-1)
GK: Kelleher
RB: O’Shea, CB: Collins, CB: Scales, LB: O’Dowda
CM: Cullen, CM: Knight,
RW: Festy, AM: Azaz, LW: Szmodics
CF: Ferguson
Finland Predicted Starting XI (4-3-3)
GK: Hradecky
RB: Stahl, CB: Hoskonen, CB: Ivanov, LB: Galvez
RM: Kamara, CM: Schüller, LM: Peltola
RW: Lod CF: Pohjanpalo, LW: Hakans
Republic of Ireland v Finland Head-To-Head Results & Stats
All-Time Head-To-Head Record
Republic of Ireland wins: 4
Finland wins: 2
Draws: 2
Head-To-Head Last Five Results
Finland 1-2 Republic of Ireland | Nations League | October 10th, 2024
Finland 1-0 Republic of Ireland | Nations League | October 14th, 2020
Republic of Ireland 0-1 Finland | Nations League | September 6th, 2020
Finland 0-3 Republic of Ireland | Friendly | August 21st, 2002
Republic of Ireland 3-0 Finland | Friendly | August 21st, 2002
Key Players To Watch
Evan Ferguson – Republic of Ireland
So much expectation and pressure is put on Evan Ferguson from Irish supporters that it shouldn’t be ignored that he’s still young having only turned 20 last month. He’s struggled with consistency and game time due to injuries but recently got his first Premier League goal of the season against Wolves which should do his confidence the world of good.
This looks to me like the perfect game for him to add to his 3 goals for Ireland.
Glen Kamara – Finland
If Finland are to have any chance of picking up a point against Ireland, the performance of Rennes midfielder Kamara (29) will be pivotal in the midfield battle. He can do it all with his 3.25 Tackles Per Game and 1.08 Interceptions in the 93rd and 61st percentile while his Pass Completion of 90.3% and 2.01 Attacking Penalty touches are in the 92nd and 81st percentile for all midfielders.
Republic of Ireland v Finland Prediction & Best Bet
Prediction: Republic of Ireland 2-0 Finland
It’s been a torrid time for Irish supporters, but there were enough signs from the last window to suggest they can win this game comfortably.
Finland are arguably one of few sides less in-form than Ireland and though they do have some quality players, they look far below the levels needed at the moment at Nations League B standards.
Ireland should be far too good for Finland, though I can’t see there being lots of goals.
Best Bet: Republic of Ireland Win + Under 2.5 Goals @ 11/5
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