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The Republic of Ireland will face Bulgaria at the Aviva Stadium on Sunday in the second leg of their 2024-25 UEFA Nations League promotion/relegation play-off tie. The home side struggled for results in an admittedly difficult Nations League group last year but are now on the verge of confirming safety in League B.
They picked up a largely deserved 2-1 comeback win in their first-leg clash at the Hristo Botev Stadium on Thursday, finding themselves a goal down just six minutes after kick-off before goals from Finn Azaz and Wolverhampton Wanderers man Matt Doherty later in the half helped secure the win for the Boys in Green.
Bulgaria had mixed results in their League C group, picking up nine points from an obtainable 18 but remain hopeful of advancing to League B for the first time since the 2020-21 season. They, however, failed to capitalize on their home advantage last time out, with Marin Petkov's early opener ultimately counting as a consolation goal and they now require a result on hostile ground this weekend to secure promotion.
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Republic of Ireland vs Bulgaria Head-to-Head and Key Numbers
- There have been 13 meetings between the two nations. The Republic of Ireland have won four of those games while Bulgaria have won one fewer, with their other six contests ending in draws.
- The Boys in Green are undefeated in their last eight games in this fixture, a run dating back to 1987.
- The Lions have managed just one clean sheet in their last 10 games in this fixture.
- Ireland were ranked 60th in the latest FIFA rankings and now sit 22 places above their weekend opponents.
Republic of Ireland vs Bulgaria
The Republic of Ireland have won two of their last three games after losing four of their previous five. They have had their struggles on home soil of late but have a slender advantage to hold on to and will head into the weekend clash as clear favorites.
Bulgaria have won just one of their last five matches and two of their last 10. They have failed to perform in this fixture in recent years and could lose here as well.
Prediction: Republic of Ireland 2-1 Bulgaria
Republic of Ireland vs Bulgaria Betting Tips
Tip 1 - Result: Ireland to win
Tip 2 - Both teams to score: YES (Both sides have found the back of the net in five of their last six matchups)
Tip 3 - Ireland to score first: YES (The Boys in Green have opened the scoring in seven of their last eight matches)
