Ireland’s marathon international window ends with another meeting against Israel on Sunday night.
Heimir Hallgrímsson’s side won the reverse fixture 3-0 just seven days ago, with Troy Parrott, Adam Idah and Jack Moylan scoring during an 11-minute first-half burst in Debrecen.
Ireland followed that with a 2-2 draw against Austria on Thursday. Parrott scored twice to put them 2-0 ahead, only for Austria to fight back after the break.
Israel picked up their first point of the campaign on the same night with a 0-0 draw against Kosovo. That leaves Ireland and Kosovo on four points, while Israel remain bottom of Group B3 with one.
Despite officially being Ireland’s home fixture, Sunday’s game will take place behind closed doors at the TSC Arena in Bačka Topola, Serbia.
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What are the best betting tips for Republic of Ireland vs Israel?
Republic of Ireland to win
Ireland have already shown they can hurt this Israel side.
The first meeting was effectively finished inside 25 minutes. Ireland generated 1.72 xG compared with Israel’s 0.32 and eventually cruised to a 3-0 victory.
Thursday was frustrating, but there were plenty of positives against Austria too.
Ireland scored twice against the group leaders and were in control before fatigue became a factor during the second half. They have now taken four points from their last two matches after beginning the campaign with defeat in Kosovo.
Israel were better against Kosovo, but the 0-0 draw means they have scored just once in three Nations League matches.
Ireland won’t have an Aviva Stadium crowd behind them in Serbia, which removes some of the normal home advantage. Even so, their performances over the last week make them worth backing to complete the double.
Troy Parrott to score or assist
Parrott is having quite an international window.
He opened the scoring against Israel last Sunday before producing both Ireland goals against Austria on Thursday. That gives him three goals across his last two appearances.
His first against Austria was particularly impressive, while his movement alongside Idah continues to give Ireland a much more threatening look in the final third.
Hallgrímsson has moved towards using the pair together, with Idah’s physicality allowing Parrott to find pockets of space rather than spending the entire game wrestling with centre-backs.
A goal or assist gives us two routes in with arguably Ireland’s most dangerous attacker right now.
Israel under 1.5 team goals
Israel’s attacking numbers don’t inspire much confidence.
They have scored just one goal across their opening three Nations League fixtures. That came in the 3-1 defeat against Austria.
Ireland then shut them out completely in Debrecen before Kosovo did the same on Thursday.
Israel did create several opportunities against Kosovo, but finishing remains a problem. Ran Ben Shimon admitted afterwards that his team had four clear chances without converting any of them.
Caoimhín Kelleher also made an excellent second-half save from Dor Peretz when these sides met last weekend.
Ireland have shown they can restrict this attack. Asking Israel to stay below two goals looks a decent angle again.
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What have the managers said?
Heimir Hallgrímsson:
Hallgrímsson isn’t expecting the second meeting to be quite as straightforward as the first.
Speaking ahead of Sunday’s game, the Ireland boss said:
“This is not going to be a friendly.”
He also acknowledged how strange the setting will be after Ireland played in front of a packed Aviva Stadium on Thursday.
“It will be different, going from playing in front of 45,000 supporters to an empty stadium.”
Hallgrímsson has stressed that recovery is particularly important after Ireland’s demanding schedule, with Sunday representing their fourth match in just 11 days.
Ran Ben Shimon:
Israel showed an improvement against Kosovo after being comfortably beaten by Ireland.
Ben Shimon was encouraged by Thursday’s response despite his side failing to score.
“We had to work very hard.”
The Israel boss also pointed towards the opportunities his team created:
“I saw some character in the team.”
Ben Shimon believes Group B3 remains open despite Israel taking only one point from their opening three fixtures.
What is Republic of Ireland’s predicted team?
(3-4-1-2) Kelleher; O’Shea, O’Brien, Kitching; Knight, Coventry, Molumby, Manning; Moylan; Idah, Parrott.
Suspended: James Abankwah.
Unavailable: Gavin Bazunu.
Abankwah is suspended, which leaves Hallgrímsson needing a change at right wing-back. Jason Knight is an option to move into that role.
Bazunu will not travel for the fixture after making himself unavailable for the two matches against Israel. Josh Keeley has joined the squad as his replacement.
Jack Moylan should continue behind Parrott and Idah, while Finn Azaz is another option after performing well in a deeper midfield role against Austria.
What is Israel’s predicted team?
(3-4-2-1) Tzur; Stoinov, Nachmias, Shlomo; Khalaili, Eliel Peretz, Dor Peretz, Revivo; Solomon, Gloukh; Turgeman.
Injured: Daniel Peretz.
Peretz has withdrawn with a groin injury, leaving Assaf Tzur and Omri Glazer as Israel’s goalkeeping options. Tzur started against Kosovo and kept a clean sheet.
Ben Shimon made several changes for Thursday’s draw, so Manor Solomon and Oscar Gloukh could return to more prominent attacking roles in Serbia.
Republic of Ireland vs Israel prediction
The venue makes this an unusual ‘home’ game for Ireland, but Hallgrímsson’s side should still arrive with confidence.
They put three past Israel last weekend and followed it by scoring twice against an Austria team that had won its opening two Nations League fixtures. Parrott, in particular, is in excellent form.
Israel were more competitive against Kosovo, but three games have produced only one goal.
Ireland may not blow them away quite as quickly this time, particularly after a tiring schedule, but they have shown considerably more attacking threat across the opening three games.
Score prediction: Republic of Ireland 2-0 Israel
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