Poland v Rep. Ireland Odds : Keane and O’Neill face their first proper test in Poznan

September 16, 2014

The Republic of Ireland are still seen as 12/5 underdogs to defeat Poland as Roy Keane and Martin O’Neill look to get a true reflection of their squad’s potential.

After impressing many with a 3-0 win against Latvia on Friday night, the Republic of Ireland will hope to show what a change in management has done for the side as they look to get a convincing win against Poland.

Roy Keane and Martin O’Neill are undoubtedly keen to stick with a similar side that beat Latvia in Dublin but they may be forced to make several changes as several big names continue to struggle with injuries.

Experienced midfielder Andy Reid has already been ruled out of the trip to Poland with a hamstring injury meanwhile the defensive partnership of Joey O’Brien and Sean St. Ledger will face late fitness tests to see if they are allowed to participate in tomorrow night’s game.

The new management team could also look to see whether Millwall goalkeeper David Forde can make his claim for the number one shirt ahead of Sudnerland keeper Keiren Westwood.

Poland has been one of Ireland’s happier hunting grounds having only lost one of their last six encounters against the Poles.

However, the Polish will be keen to prove they still have what it takes to mix with the best in Europe having suffered several defeats in recent matches.

New manager Adam Nawalka lost his first game in charge against Slovakia on Friday night and is likely to stick with several of his main stars for Tuesday’s game as he looks to get his first win on the international scene.

This will mean that Robert Lewandowski and Jakub Blaszczykowski are likely to start despite their club side Borussia Dortmund facing a crunch tie in the Bundesliga against Bayern Munich on Saturday.

With Wojcech Szczesny still struggling for fitness, it means that Southampton goalkeeper Artur Boruc will likely deputise in his absence after showing good form in the Premier League this season.

Having lost their last three games, Poland will be hoping that their stars will able to get the job done in front of their home crowd and end their barren spell of defeats that ended their World Cup qualification.

Knowing that the Poles will be low in confidence now couldn’t be a better time for Ireland to face Poland and pick up an important win that will send them into 2014 with good spirits.