Do you agree with our Ireland team to face Armenia?

Paul Fennessy

Goalkeeper/defence

AFTER HIS penalty-saving heroics at the weekend, Caoimhín Kelleher will start again, with Gavin Bazunu and Mark Travers held in reserve.

In defence, it will be interesting to see whether Heimir Hallgrímsson goes with a three or four-man backline.

He opted for three (or, depending on how you look at it, five) against Portugal, as he did in the match in Yerevan, but Hallgrímsson has invariably stuck with a four for home games.

Particularly as it is a game Ireland need to win to maintain any hope of qualifying, you suspect four will be the more appealing option.

Nathan Collins and Dara O’Shea both produced solid performances against Portugal, as did Ryan Manning at left-back, despite Hallgrímsson preferring to pick him further forward on previous occasions.

The biggest question is who they go with at right-back. Seamus Coleman impressed against Portugal, lasting 86 minutes and helping the team with his leadership and experience.

But playing two games in such a short space of time would be a big ask for the 37-year-old, and it would also be somewhat controversial to select him ahead of the man who has been keeping him out of the Everton team.

Jake O’Brien might not be as technically accomplished as the Dongegal native, but he will provide the defence with extra solidity, while they can also easily switch to a three at times to allow Manning to venture forward on the other side. 

If every previous home match of the Hallgrímsson era is anything to go by, it is also a game where Ireland will prioritise set pieces. The hosts will look to get as many deliveries into the box as possible, so O’Brien’s height could be an asset in attack as well.

Consequently, the likes of Jimmy Dunne, John Egan and Will Ferry will again have to settle for a place on the bench, along perhaps with Coleman, whose experience might be needed if Ireland have a lead to protect in the latter stages of the game.

Midfield

Probably one of the easier areas to predict, which isn’t always the case.

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Jayson Molumby delivered one of his best performances in a green jersey on Saturday, so he will almost certainly keep his place in the team.

With Josh Cullen suspended, Will Smallbone is the most experienced alternative option and is the favourite to get the nod alongside Molumby.

Conor Coventry is not expected to make his senior debut from the outset at least.

Jack Taylor struggled to make an impact against the Armenians last time out, but could be a useful impact sub.

Wingers

There are as many as six players that Hallgrímsson could theoretically consider picking in the wide positions.

Chiedozie Ogbene has started the last two qualifiers and is the most likely candidate to feature again.

Mikey Johnston and Kasey McAteer have been used sparingly enough by the Icelandic coach, and they may need to be patient once more.

Festy Ebosele had a decent game in Lisbon, but the İstanbul Başakşehir star, with his electric pace, is more suited to games where Ireland are playing on the counter-attack, rather than against teams like Armenia that will sit deep for long spells.

Hallgrímsson selected Manning on the left wing in the last home game against Hungary, but he has done reasonably well playing further back in the two Ireland matches since then.

Finn Azaz would ideally want to play centrally in an attacking midfield/number 10 role, but it might be tricky to play him there with Ireland’s system, especially if they opt for two strikers.

The Southampton star, bought from Middlesbrough at the end of August for a fee worth up to €17.3 million, would be a fresh pair of legs, as he did not feature against Portugal.

The 25-year-old has played on the left before, featuring there in the home Nations League playoff against Bulgaria, where he assisted Evan Ferguson’s equaliser, and is capable of providing the kind of creative spark that Ireland lacked against Portugal and will need to break down a more defensive-oriented Armenia side.

Strikers

One of Ireland’s biggest problems, not just recently, but for years, has been scoring goals.

They have managed only three from three games in the World Cup qualifiers.

In this campaign, Hallgrímsson has so far resisted the temptation to start with two out-and-out strikers.

But Armenia are the weakest team Ireland will face in this group. They are the lowest seeds and 42 places below the Boys in Green in the Fifa rankings.

Despite the defeat in Yerevan last month, the Ireland boss must consider throwing caution to the wind and playing both Troy Parrott and Evan Ferguson from the outset.

Ferguson has already scored two goals in the campaign so far, while Parrott has hit 10 goals in eight games for AZ Alkmaar.

The Dubliner is coming back from an injury, so it would be his first competitive start since 21 August.

Yet Hallgrímsson surely needs a win to keep any realistic chance of Ireland qualifying alive and conceivably to save his job as well.

That means starting with your best players, and Parrott, on recent club form, certainly deserves to be talked of in this way.

The fact that he was fit enough to make a 78th-minute appearance on Saturday also indicates he is ready.

Adam Idah, meanwhile, didn’t feature at all against Portugal, but may well be needed at some stage for some late inspiration, which he memorably provided from the bench against Portugal.

Possible Ireland XI: Caoimhín Kelleher; Jake O’Brien, Nathan Collins, Dara O’Shea, Ryan Manning; Chiedozie Ogbene; Jayson Molumby, Will Smallbone; Finn Azaz; Troy Parrott, Evan Ferguson.