Republic of Ireland vs Portugal Odds: Three bets for Thursday's game in Dublin

Live on Sky Sports, Ireland host Portugal in this all important World Cup qualifier this Thursday at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin at 7.45pm. The hosts can no longer qualify for the 2022 World Cup as they are 11 points behind 2nd placed Portugal with 2 qualifiers to play. They finally claimed their first win of the qualifiers against Azerbaijan in the last international break but will only be playing for pride in their last 2 games.

The equation is completely different for the visitors though. Portugal are 2nd with 16 points just 1 point behind leaders Serbia who have played an extra game. They will be looking to do a professional job and get these all important 3 points to go top of the group which would solidify their automatic qualification spot. If they do end up winning here, they will be 1st with 19 points and a draw in the final game against Serbia will be enough to qualify directly for the 2022 World Cup. The motivation should be high and nothing other than 3 points will be acceptable. Their last head to head fixture against Ireland ended in a dramatic 2-1 win for them with Ronaldo scoring 2 late goals but they will be hoping for a much more comfortable evening this time around.
An exciting fixture is on the cards and as usual I have you covered with my 3 best betting angles for this game included in the preview below:

Team News:

Ireland come into this game with a fully fit squad.
Bernardo Silva is out injured for Portugal while Nuno Mendes is suspended.

Ireland possible starting lineup:
Bazunu; Omobamidele, Duffy, Egan; Doherty, Hendrick, Cullen, Browne, McClean; Robinson, Idah 

Portugal possible starting lineup:
Patricio; Dalot, Pepe, Dias, Cancelo; Moutinho, Palhinha, Fernandes; Felix, Ronaldo, Jota

- Over 0 goals in the 2nd half for Portugal
- Over 0 cards in the 2nd half for Ireland
- Over 0 corners in the 1st half for Portugal
- Over 0 corners in the 2nd half for Portugal

Portugal are expected to dominate this game with qualification on the line. Ireland will try to keep it tight and compact early on and I definitely expect the game to open up in the 2nd half more. This bet landed when these 2 teams played last time out with Portugal scoring 2 second half goals and I expect it to land comfortably again. Portugal are one of the best corner sides so 1 corner for Portugal in each half should not be a problem. 4 players from the Ireland team were booked in their 2-1 loss to Portugal and a 2nd half card for them in this will be highly likely specially when you consider that we have a card happy ref Jesus Gil Manzano who averages over 5 cards per game.

Jeff Hendrick has seen three yellow cards in his last three competitive international games for Ireland. He was also booked in the 10th minute of the 2-1 loss against Portugal last time out. Before this game, he was talking about payback for Ronaldo’s late goals so expect him to put up a strong fight against Portugal’s midfield. 11/2 is simply too big considering he was booked against Portugal last time out and we have a card happy referee. I am happy to back this with a small 0.5pt stake.

Ronaldo scored two headed goals against Ireland last time out. We are getting a price of 15/2 for him to score a header against Ireland and I think it is definitely worth backing as a longshot considering he is Portugal’s biggest threat in the air. Getting on this with a very small 0.25pt stake.

Best of luck if you follow these selections. Please always gamble responsibly.