Euro 2012 qualifier preview: Rep. of Ireland v Russia
There is a quiet contentment about the Republic of Ireland at the moment, so much so that Giovanni Trapattoni has named an unchanged side for the visit of Russia to Dublin.
Armenia and Andorra may be the two weakest sides in Group B, but the Republic beat them both well last month – not convincingly well, but well nonetheless. Russia hold few fears for them, and neither does the trip to Slovakia on Tuesday.
“We can give anyone a game and we can beat anybody - I think that six points is within our reach,” said Liam Lawrence, the winger on loan at Portsmouth from Stoke who has kept his place in Trapattoni’s side for the Russia match.
“They are two massive games, especially against Russia on Friday. It will be tough but we've come through these games before and we've got to again.
“We have learnt from those games in the past and hopefully it will stand us in good stead for Friday because we are going to have to call upon all our experience and everything we have got for these two games.”
While the Republic started with six points out of six, Russia’s campaign stalled with a surprise 1-0 home defeat to Slovakia last time out. It is a loss that Lawrence expects them to still be feeling.
“Russia will be stung a little bit and will be hurting from that defeat,” said the winger.
“I'm not sure they will be looking forward to coming to Dublin so hopefully we can catch them again and get the win.”
“We will be put to the test on Friday because they are one of the biggest sides in the world and have some fantastic players. But it's going to be up to us, it's on our turf and hopefully we will give them a good game.”
Two of those “fantastic players” that Lawrence referred to probably included the recognisable Premier League pair of Andrey Arshavin and Roman Pavlyuchenko, but the Spurs forward will miss tonight’s match with an ankle injury.
Unlike Trapattoni, Russia boss d**k Advocaat – who is sure to be reminded of his Rangers connections in Dublin – isn’t so content with the stability within his squad. In fact he’s fed up with it.
“We are watching games every week to look for replacements or better players to make the squad better,” Advocaat told the Russian press earlier this week. “But so far we're still selecting the same players we already have.”
Hardly a ringing endorsement of his current squad, and there have been serious questions in Russia as to why their run to the Euro 2008 semi finals hasn’t been built on. They failed to qualify for the summer’s World Cup, and have started their Euro 2012 campaign in uninspiring fashion. The dour Advocaat doesn’t exactly help matters.
“I don't consider Russia favourites for the match against Ireland,” he said. “Our opponents regularly play at the top level. Remember that only Thierry Henry's handball prevented Trapattoni's side from qualifying for the World Cup.”
Dublin will prove a tough test for them and their less than Churchillian boss, and the calmness within the Irish setup may just prove crucial.
A third win out of three sets them up perfectly, and will leave the grumpy Advocaat in an even worse mood than he normally is. If that’s possible.
Prediction: Rep. of Ireland 3 Russia 1
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