Gibraltar vs Republic of Ireland Prediction and Preview – 04/09/2015
Euro 2016 Qualification preview – Gibraltar vs Republic of Ireland prediction
With six losses from six and only one goal to their name, Gibraltar are purely playing for pride at this stage. It’s a case of how many goals they can avoid conceding, and they will probably go with their preferred 4-1-4-1 formation. If they can get control of the ball and try to exploit any complacency within the Irish side they may get some luck. Lee Casciaro seems to be their only hope of getting any goals, being their only scorer so far in qualifying.
Only defender Paul McShane sat out of training on Wednesday with a slight injury to his back, but otherwise Republic of Ireland have a fully fit squad. They have used the 4-4-2 formation in all but one qualifying match so far, and I can’t see them switching it up for this match. The options in attack are always strong with the likes of Robbie Keane, Shane Long and Jon Walters, but they must avoid complacency in defence.
Possible Line-ups
Gibraltar: 4-1-4-1 formation: Robba; J. Chipolina, R. Casciaro, Wiseman, Garcia; R. Chipolina; K. Casciaro, Walker, Payas, Gosling; L. Casciaro
Republic of Ireland: 4-4-2 formation: Given; Ward, O’Shea, Wilson, Coleman; McGeady, Whelan, McCarthy, Hoolahan; Walters, Keane
Statistics
- Gibraltar have won 1, drawn 1 and lost 8 of their last 10 matches
- Republic of Ireland have won 4, drawn 4 and lost 2 of their last 10 matches
- Over the course of their previous 10 matches, Gibraltar have scored an average of 0.3 goals and conceded an average of 4.1 goals per game
- Over the course of their previous 10 matches, Republic of Ireland have scored an average of 1.9 goals and conceded an average of 1.1 goals per game
- There have been over 2.5 goals scored in 7 of Gibraltar’s previous 10 matches
- There have been over 2.5 goals scored in 4 of Republic of Ireland’s previous 10 matches
- The last and only meeting was a 7-0 victory for Republic of Ireland in the first of the two qualifying games. Robbie Keane scored a first half hattrick
Prediction
Gibraltar have the worst defensive record out of any team in qualifying and are mainly there to make up the numbers. Arguably the weakest of all the teams, there is no expectation for them to get a win or even score. They will be looking to park the bus and frustrate Republic of Ireland as much as possible.
Republic of Ireland will surely be looking at this match as a nailed on three points despite Roy Keane warning them not to get complacent. With a home match against Georgia after this one they will be looking to secure six points and mount a charge for qualification, although it is unlikely that they will topple Germany and Poland who are four and five points ahead respectively.
A convincing Republic of Ireland win seems to be the likely outcome. Having put seven past Gibraltar at home it will be a case of how many goals they can score.
We say: Over 6.5 goals at 9/4 with Bet365
What are your predictions?