Preview: Georgia vs Ireland
First up is a trip to Georgia on Saturday evening, which is followed by a quick return to Dublin where Ireland face Serbia at the Aviva Stadium on Tuesday.
Kick-off: September 2, 17:00 BST; Venue: Boris Paichadze Dianamo Arena; Referee: Ivan Kruzliak
With just three points, Georgia sit fifth in Group D and have only Moldova positioned below them. They have yet to manage a single win in the group with three points coming from three draws; a shambolic record that will rule them out of a place in next summer’s World Cup.
Vladimir Weiss’ men only failed to score in one game so far; against Ireland at the Aviva Stadium when the two nations first met on match day 2 of the group. Seamus Coleman scored the only goal that night, although the Irish are without the consistent right-back following a horrific leg break he suffered against Wales in March.
Moreover, Georgia picked up a point away to Wales and, despite the fact they are out of the running in Group D, Ireland have work to do in order to get the win in Tbilisi.
Ireland and Serbia are currently level at the top of Group D with 12 points each while Wales and Austria — both very much in with a chance of qualification — are four points behind the two group leaders.
The Boys in Green haven’t lost any of their matches so far — three wins and as many draws — and that is unlikely to change when they travel to Georgia. Plus, over the years, Georgia and Ireland have met eight times with the latter national winning every time.
Ahead of the Ireland squad’s departure to Tbilisi, they underwent a training session without any injury concerns. John O’Shea and forward Jonathan Walters took a full part in training without any reaction to niggling injuries, whereas David McGoldrick did not travel with the squad due to personal reasons.
Needless to say, Ireland expect to take three points but a dream scenario would be that they also manage to get a home win against Serbia three days later, which would virtually guarantee Martin O’Neill’s side at least a runners-up spot with two fixtures remaining.
But the top eight runners-up from the nine groups only qualify for a playoff, although we wouldn’t recommend issuing a reminder of *that* night Thierry Henry cheated the nation out of a place at the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. Not whilst the Irish are around, anyway.
Prediction: Georgia 0-2 Ireland
