It is the latest instalment of the Carling Nations Cup on Friday night as Northern Ireland take on Wales and both teams will be looking to end their week on a high after disappointing results. But who is going to be celebrating when the final whistle is blown in Dublin?
Northern Ireland (12/5 to beat Wales on Friday night) lost 3-0 to Scotland in their opening game and were then thrashed 5-0 by the Republic of Ireland on Tuesday night.
Nigel Worthington already had a threadbare squad going into this week but he has been further hit by the withdrawals of midfielders Steven Davis and Sammy Clingan.
Northern Ireland have never been blessed with top stars, so losing one midfielder from the SPL champions Rangers, Davis, and a Championship regular in the shape of Clingan will leave a massive hole in the centre of the park.
Wales (10/11 to win the game, draw 12/5) face a quick turnaround after losing 3-1 to Scotland on Wednesday night, meaning they will run out in Dublin on Friday only 48 hours after they left the pitch feeling the disappointment of defeat.
Gary Speed has spoken of his disgust of how the matches have been organised but, while Northern Ireland have had an extra 24 hours recovery, the Wales (14/1 to win the game 3-0) manager has the luxury of a squad to rotate.
He left out a number of Premier League players for the Scotland defeat and that means the likes of Aaron Ramsey, David Vaughan, Wayne Hennessey and Danny Collins are set to play on Friday night. The talismanic Craig Bellamy could also face Northern Ireland if he recovers for a hamstring problem in time.
Compare that to Northern Ireland (13/2 Draw/Northern Ireland Half-time/Full-time), who are so short of players they were forced to give 17-year-old Ipswich Town midfielder Josh Carson his international debut after only nine appearances in the Championship.
In the absence of Davis and Clingan they will need to rely on the likes of Oliver Norwood, yet to make an appearance for Manchester United, and the unproven Niall McGinn and Liam Boyce to plug the gaps – there is little doubt Worthington would love the opportunity to rotate Premier League players like his opposite number had the luxury of in midweek.
Both Wales and Northern Ireland are without a win in their two Carling Nations Cup games, but Speed’s side should be considered favourites for the game due to the players they are able to bring in.
Being fancied to win the game is something that Wales are not used to and there is a chance his players could choke under the pressure of beating a threadbare and struggling Northern Ireland side (4/6 for Under 2.5 goals in the game).
For these two teams the rest of the Carling Nations Cup is going to be about rebuilding and looking for glimpses of inspiration for the future and you have to wonder how many fans are going to turn up at the Aviva Stadium for what could be seen as a meaningless clash, especially as the tournament has failed to inspire supporters so far.
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