Both the Republic of Ireland and Scotland return to international action on Saturday with a couple of tough friendly matches.
For the Irish they face Bosnia-Herzegovina in their last home game before they turn their attention to the serious business of Euro 2012. Elsewhere, the Scots have no major tournament to prepare for but they will be keen to get a result across the Atlantic against the United States.
Republic of Ireland v Bosnia-Herzegovina – 3pm
There is bound to be a jovial atmosphere inside the Aviva Stadium on Saturday as Irish supporters look for their team to continue their Euro 2012 preparations with a win.
Coach Giovanni Trapattoni has done a fantastic job with what is predominantly an ageing Irish team to get them to Euro 2012. However, if Ireland are to make it out of Group C, with Italy, Spain and Croatia all in their way, they will have to up their game.
The clash with Bosnia-Herzegovina is a good test of what this Ireland squad is capable of, with the Balkan nation narrowly missing out on a place in Poland and Ukraine this summer after a play-off defeat to Portugal.
Coach Safet Susic has a few talented players at his disposal, with Edin Dzeko, Miralem Pjanic, Senad Lulic and Zvjezdan Misimovic all expected to start on Saturday.
Having just failed to reach the European Championships you’d expect Bosnia-Herzegovina to give a good account of themselves, even after a long, hard season. With Trapattoni naturally cautious the game is unlikely to be an open one, especially given all of Ireland’s injury concerns in defence.
Kieren Westwood will start in goal ahead of Shay Given as he recovers from a knee injury. Paul McShane has been called up to the squad because the central defensive trio of John O’Shea, Richard Dunne and Sean St Ledger are all unavailable.
In attack, Trapattoni has a big decision to make when it comes to who should partner Robbie Keane (11/10 to score anytime), with Shane Long (3/2), Jon Walters (7/4), Kevin Doyle (13/8) and Simon Cox (15/8) all in the reckoning.
Despite having something to play for and home advantage Saturday’s game could be something of an anti-climax, with a draw the most likely outcome.
The draw is 9/4, with Ireland evens and Bosnia-Herzegovina 3/1.
USA v Scotland – 1am
Even the most hardy of Scotland fans might give this game a miss given the kick-off time here as Craig Levein takes his team to Florida for this ’soccer’ match. You might be forgiven for thinking this is just a jolly for the Scottish players and if they treat it like that then they’ll be turned over by a strong USA team.
Levein has taken a weakened squad to Jacksonville for the clash, with Jamie Mackie, Kris Commons, Darren Fletcher, Steven Naisimth, James Morrison, Graham Dorrans and Charlie Adam all left at home. The uncapped duo of Blackpool winger Matt Phillips and Dundee United striker Johnny Russell have been called up to fill the void but are unlikely to feature against the States.
Despite failing to reach Euro 2012 Levein can be happy with the progress he has made in the national set-up, losing just one of his seven games in charge and that was against Spain. However, the USA have a strong squad and under current coach Jurgen Klinsmann recorded their most famous result to date when they beat Italy 1-0 in Genoa in February.
The States team boasts a number of familiar names, with Clint Dempsey, Landon Donovan, Maurice Edu and Tim Howard all expected to feature against the Scots. Given the season Dempsey has had at Fulham he could be a good bet to score anytime at 11/8, or you could place him a scorecast with Dempsey first goalscorer and the USA to win 1-0 priced at 20/1.
The States have won the last four, three of which finished 1-0, and will be expected to roll over the Scots. A USA win is 8/13, with Scotland 9/2 and the draw 11/4.
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