Low-scoring fare in the Duchy?
With Luxembourg and Ireland, two table neighbours in Group A will face each other. The home side are in third place and the Irish are right behind them. However, both teams no longer have a chance at one of the top two places, as the gap to Portugal and Serbia is already too large before the last two group matches.
While missing out on a World Cup is nothing new for the footballers from the Duchy, the disappointment is greater for them. After all, the Irish have been to three global finals, although their last appearance was 19 years ago.
The Irish have been to three global finals, although their last appearance was 19 years ago.
For the match at the Stade Josy Barthel between Luxembourg and Ireland, the betting is on less than 2.5 goals.
Luxembourg – Statistics & current form
The Luxembourg national football team has the first player in its ranks to score a goal in the Champions League in a few weeks. The goal was scored by Sebastien Thill, who currently plays for Sheriff Tiraspol, and it came against none other than Real Madrid.
Thanks to his winning goal, the Moldovans achieved one of the biggest sensations of this football year. Thill also comes from a real footballing family. His father Serge played for Luxembourg and his brothers Vincent and Olivier are also members of the national team.
Luxembourg may not be able to qualify for the World Cup in Qatar, as has always been the case, but with nine points they currently occupy a respectable third place and the dress rehearsal for the upcoming match was won 3:1 in Azerbaijan last Thursday.
Rodrigues remains accurate
The match-winner was Gerson Rodrigues, who otherwise plays for Troyes in Ligue 1. With a double strike and an assist, he almost single-handedly set the tone for victory. With five goals in six appearances, he is now the hosts’ top scorer in the World Cup qualifiers.
One shortcoming, however, is the fragile defence. Although Anthony Moris is a good goalkeeper who currently leads the Belgian Jupiler League with his club Union St. Gilloise, the quality of his front men is poor.
That is why coach Luc Holz, who has been in charge of the team for eleven years, has already conceded 14 goals in the eight group matches. Only Azerbaijan, who are bottom of the table, have conceded one more goal.
Defensive is safer on home turf
However, the defensive performance of the “Red Lions” has so far been better at home than away. Only five of the 14 goals conceded were at home. Against this background, the odds on a maximum of one goal by the visitors in Luxembourg against Ireland are also linked with value.
Predicted line-up of Luxembourg:
Moris – Jans – Chanot – Carlson – Goncalves – Thill O. – Barreiro – Sinani – Martins – Rodrigues – Thill S.
Last matches played by Luxembourg:
World Cup Qualification UEFA 1st Round Grp. A
11/11 2021 – Azerbaijan 1 – 3 Luxembourg
10/12 2021 – Portugal 5 – 0 Luxembourg
10/09 2021 – Luxembourg 0 – 1 Serbia
Friendly match
09/07 2021 – Luxembourg 1 – 1 Qatar
World Cup Qualification UEFA 1st Round Grp. A
09/04 2021 – Serbia 4 – 1 Luxembourg
Ireland – Statistics & current form
The Irish have seen better days. While they were represented at three of the four finals between 1990 and 2002, the dry spell since their last participation is now getting longer and longer, as Ireland will once again not compete in Qatar. While there is plenty of quality in the squad, Ireland are not functioning well as a team at the moment.
The defence, in particular, is filled with powerful players. First and foremost among them is defender Matt Doherty, who plays in the Premier League in London with Tottenham. John Egan also defends in England with Sheffield United, although the Blades are currently only in the second-tier Championship.
The list of strong defensive players can be continued with Nathan Collins of the Clarets from Burnley or the captain Seamus Coleman of Everton. Due to the high density of strong defensive players, only four goals were conceded in six group matches in the last edition of the Nations League.
The defence has also shown improvement of late in World Cup qualifying, conceding just two goals from their last four games, despite facing the league leaders from Serbia and, most recently, the runners-up from Portugal.
No goals for the hosts?
With the home side’s strong defence and a striker with plenty of room for improvement, the odds on a clean sheet from the visitors in the clash between Luxembourg and Ireland are also a good idea – it would also be the third in a row.
On the offensive, Callum Robinson is too often left to his own devices. The West Brom attacker is the only Irish player to have scored at least twice already, scoring a hat-trick in the last test match against Qatar.
Overall, however, the visitors’ forward play has room for improvement: Eight goals represent half the output of the two top teams in the group from Serbia and Portugal. This difference mainly explains why it will not be enough for the Irish in the end in this World Cup qualification.
Predicted Ireland line-up:
Bazunu – Duffy – Doherty – Egan – Horgan – McClean – Cullen – Hendrick – Robinson – Omobamide – Idah
Last matches played by Ireland:
World Cup Qualification UEFA 1st Round Grp. A
11/11 2021 – Ireland 0 – 0 Portugal
Friendly match
10/12 2021 – Ireland 4 – 0 Qatar
World Cup Qualification UEFA 1st Round Grp. A
10/09 2021 – Azerbaijan 0 – 3 Ireland
09/07 2021 – Ireland 1 – 1 Serbia
09/04 2021 – Ireland 1 – 1 Azerbaijan
Luxembourg – Ireland Direct comparison / H2H balance
Luxembourg surprisingly won the first leg 1-0 in Dublin with a late goal. It was the Irish’s first defeat in this pairing (4-0-1). For the upcoming edition, the guests are now seen as favourites again.
Luxembourg – Ireland Tip
From a sporting point of view, there is nothing at stake for either team in this match. Not a good prerequisite in terms of their respective motivation. For the match between Luxembourg and Ireland, the prediction also includes a maximum of two goals.
However, the prediction is based more on the strong visitors’ defence, which has recently improved its quality, as in the goalless draw against Portugal last Thursday.
At the same time, neither of the two offensive lines has been overpowering so far. Furthermore, few goals suggest themselves due to the better home defence of the Luxembourgers.
Although the hosts have conceded the most goals in the group after Azerbaijan, the backline is noticeably better at home than away. The leaders from Serbia only managed a 1-0 win in Duchy last time out. The first leg, in which only one goal was scored, also supports this prediction.
Bwin offers betting odds of 1.55 on the clash between Luxembourg and Ireland.
