Northern Ireland vs San Marino. FIFA World Cup European Qualifying Group C.
Windsor Park.
Saturday 8 October 2016 18:47, UK
Northern Ireland warm up for a trip to Germany on Tuesday with a seemingly straightforward home clash against San Marino.
San Marino have never won a World Cup qualifier, losing 55 and drawing two, and have lost all 20 of their matches against the home nations (Northern Ireland, Republic of Ireland, England, Scotland and Wales), scoring just three goals in that time and conceding 86.
Michael O'Neill's team will be confident of adding to a strong home record which has seen them win six of their last eight home matches at Windsor Park.
The manager, whose team drew 0-0 with Czech Republic in their opening Group C game, is keen to embrace home surroundings during this campaign.
"You cannot have a good campaign and drop points at home," O'Neill said.
"Before we played our first match of this campaign, at our training camp in Austria we had a good meeting with the players and told them where we believed we had to deliver points and at home was a big factor in that.
"Getting as many points on the board here against San Marino, Azerbaijan and Norway would set us up for the Czech Republic and Germany games to come."
Team news
O'Neill has a fully fit squad to choose from and he's likely to keep to his tried and tested starting XI that performed so admirably at the Euros.
The only real dilemma is whether to start Kyle Lafferty, who has been out of favour at Norwich this season.
Either QPR's Conor Washington or Charlton's Josh Magennis could replace him as the lone striker.
Stats
Northern Ireland have won both of their previous encounters with San Marino, scoring a combined seven goals while conceding none.
Gareth McAuley scored the last time these two sides met - a 3-0 away win in 2009. The defender has had two shots, more than any other Northern Ireland player in World Cup 2018 qualifying.
Northern Ireland have also have conceded just two goals in their last six home matches and kept four clean sheets in that time (W4 D2).
Charlie's prediction
This looks like a good little opportunity for Northern Ireland to get a few goals in the bag for once, but these teams can be frustrating initially.
Lafferty had a pretty miserable Euros after being talked up and I think it could take a while for them to break San Marino down.
I'd be expecting late goals from Northern Ireland as they're not used to going straight out and attacking, but these sort of teams get tired late on, so it might take something from a set-piece to get them going with Gareth McAuley their main threat.
Charlie predicts: 3-0 and McAuley to score first (35/1 with Sky Bet)
Betting
Northern Ireland are just 1/40 with Sky Bet to see off San Marino, who are up against odds of 66/1 for the victory and 14/1 just to secure a draw. Kyle Lafferty is rated the hosts' main threat at 9/4 to score first and just 6/1 to score a hat-trick, while Charlie Nicholas is tipping Gareth McAuley to break the deadlock in a 3-0 victory at 35/1 in his Sky Bet prediction.
