Ireland vs Finland Prediction, Odds and Lineups: Back Szmodics for his First Goal in Green

Ireland picked up their first win under new manager Heimir Hallgrímsson against Finland in Helsinki. They have since lost a game to Greece but will go into this game with confidence they can beat Finland in Dublin.

Kick-off for this match is at 19:45 In the Aviva Stadium.

Sammie Szmodics was the top scorer of the EFL Championship last season, scoring a total of 27 goals for Blackburn. He has come up with some big goals for his new club Ipswich Town this season, including his fantastic overhead kick goal in their most recent win against Tottenham.

However, Szmodics has yet to score a goal in an Ireland jersey, and there aren't many better games for him to get his first goal for his country. Finland are a poor side with a weak defence. Ireland managed to pick up their first competitive win in five games against Finland away from home, so Szmodics can expect to have good opportunities to find the net now that they face the same side at home.

With this in mind, I am tipping Szmodics to build on his spectacular goal last weekend by scoring his first goal at international level.

I am also backing Jayson Molumby to pick up a card in this game.

The West Brom midfielder is known for his hard, fearless style of tackling, which frequently gets him noticed by referees. His aggressive approach means he often picks up yellow cards. This season, he has already received four yellow cards in just twelve Championship games, showing how regularly he’s involved in physical play. In addition to his league games, he also received a yellow card while playing for Ireland in the Nations League earlier this year during a match against England.

Predicted Lineups for Ireland vs Finland

Ireland: Kelleher, Ebosele, Collins, O'Shea, Brady, Molumby, Knight, Ogbene, Azaz, Szmodics, Ferguson

Finland: Hradecky, Stahl, Hoskonen, Ivanov, Galvez, Walta, Schuller, Lod, Kamara, Keskinen, Pohjanpalo