England face off with the Republic of Ireland in a UEFA Nations League game at Wembley this Sunday. This is the final group game for these teams in the current Nations League campaign, and for England, it will be crucial.
The Three Lions need to avoid a defeat to ensure promotion to League A in the competition's next edition.
Ireland, meanwhile, have less to play for, but will still want to bloody the nose of their rivals, something they've struggled to do recently.
So who will come out on top on Sunday?
England vs Republic of Ireland Head-to-Head and Key Numbers
- These two sides last faced off in Dublin in September, and England secured a comfortable 0-2 win. Remarkably, this was their first competitive win over Ireland since 1980. However, it's worth noting that the Three Lions have now won their last two games with Ireland and have not lost to them since 1988.
- After suffering a shock home defeat to Greece in October, England's chances of automatic promotion into the Nations League's League A seemed slim. However, Lee Carsley's side scored a thumping 0-3 win in Athens earlier this week, and now top their group. If they can now avoid a loss to Ireland here, promotion will be settled.
- Ireland also won earlier this week, defeating Finland in Dublin thanks to a goal from Brighton's Evan Ferguson. However, Heimir Hallgrimmsson's side cannot make the promotion playoffs, even with a win here, and will face a relegation playoff next year instead.
- For England, this match will mark the final fixture in the interim reign of Lee Carsley, as Thomas Tuchel is due to take the reigns in January. If England can win here, Carsley will leave with a record of five wins and one loss, giving him the highest win percentage of any England boss to take charge of more than a single game.
- Despite struggling to impress at times during this Nations League campaign, England are still League B's second top-scorers with 11 goals. Only Austria have scored more (13), but they have had the fortune of facing the competition's weakest side in Kazakhstan.
England vs Republic of Ireland Prediction
Despite a huge list of injury withdrawals during the current international break, England still looked excellent against Greece. The game was, in fact, probably the best performance in the short reign of Lee Carsley.
With that in mind, the Three Lions should be able to comfortably brush Ireland aside, particularly with home advantage.
Ireland will hope to push England hard, and they do have some talented Premier League players. However, given how weak their efforts in Dublin were, it's hard to see past a Three Lions victory in this one.
Prediction: England 3-0 Republic of Ireland
England vs Republic of Ireland Betting Tips
Tip 1: Result - England to win.
Tip 2: England to keep a clean sheet - Yes (Ireland have not scored against England in their last three meetings).
Bold Tip: Harry Kane to score or assist for England - Yes (Kane was rested for the Greece game this week and will be desperate to show that England are still better off with their all-time top scorer).