Northern Ireland vs Hungary; European Championship Qualifying Group F
Northern Ireland vs Hungary. European Championship Qualifying Group F.
Windsor Park.
Northern Ireland 1
- C Baird (sent off 81st minute)
- K Lafferty (93rd minute)
Hungary 1
- R Guzmics (74th minute)
Nothern Ireland v Hungary preview: Hosts bid to secure Euro 2016 spot
Monday 7 September 2015 19:45, UK
Northern Ireland will qualify for the European Championship for the first time if they beat Hungary on Monday evening.
Michael O'Neill's side moved to the top of Group F on Friday after they beat the Faroe Islands and Hungary held previous leaders Romania to a draw.
The results mean Northern Ireland are four points ahead of third-placed Hungary with three games remaining and on the brink of reaching their first major tournament since the 1986 World Cup.
Live Euro 2016 Qualifiers
A win at Windsor Park on Monday would give the campaign a fitting symmetry as Northern Ireland started qualifying with victory over Hungary last September.
Hungary, though, are unbeaten since then and are only three points behind second-placed Romania.
They finish with matches against the bottom two sides in the group, Faroe Islands and Greece.
Team news
Leading Group F scorer Kyle Lafferty and Chris Brunt are available for Northern Ireland after avoiding yellow cards against Faroe Islands that would have earned them suspensions.
Daniel Tozser is suspended for Hungary after he picked up his third yellow card of the campaign in the draw against Romania.
Stats
The last time Northern Ireland secured qualification on home soil for a major tournament was with a 1-0 World Cup qualifying win against Israel at Windsor Park in November 1981.
If Northern Ireland win it would be the earliest they have ever qualified for a major tournament.
Northern Ireland are unbeaten at home in this qualifying campaign.
Northern Ireland were fifth seeds in Group F behind Greece, Hungary, Romania and Finland.
Hungary have won on all three previous visits to Northern Ireland and have won four of the five previous meetings between the nations.
Betting
Sky Bet make Northern Ireland 7/5 favourites to beat 2/1 shots Hungary and secure their place in the Euro 2016 finals.
Michael O'Neill's side won the corresponding fixture 2-1 and it's a 9/1 shot for a repeat of that outcome, while an Irish victory with both teams scoring is 5/1.
Watch Northern Ireland v Hungary live on Sky Sports 5 HD from 7.30pm on Monday.
