Aviva Stadium, Dublin, Ireland – Republic of Ireland go face Bulgaria on Sunday for the second leg of dem Nations League playoff after dem don already get 2-1 lead from Thursday match. Dem Boys in Green dey try secure dia spot in Europe second tier, and wetin don happen for the first leg fit give dem edge.
For that first match wey happen for Plovdiv, Bulgaria try start strong but na Finn Azaz wey score first for Ireland before Matt Doherty add another goal. Dis goal wey Doherty score na him 49th appearance, and hin dey look forward to reach 50th cap, as hin don impress coach Heimir Hallgrimsson.
“We fit do better, na only di first leg we just play. We dey look forward to return to Ireland for di second match,” Hallgrimsson talk after di first leg. Even though Bulgaria get 63% ball possession for di second half, dem struggle to penetrate Ireland defense, recording just 0.32xG for di match.
Bulgaria go need to improve dia scoring threat if dem wan challenge Ireland on Sunday. Coach Illian Illiev fit change dem formation back to 4-2-3-1 solidify dia attack, especially with players like Marin Petkov and Kiril Despodov wey don show dem scoring ability before.
Dimitar Mitov go miss di match for Bulgaria as him dey recover from injury, and Plamen Illiev go take hin place for goal. Dis na crucial match for both teams as Ireland dey try avoid relegation while Bulgaria dey aim for promotion to League B.
The match go broadcast live on RTE2 and RTE Player for Ireland, plus online streaming on Amazon Prime Video. Historical stats show sey Ireland never win away against Bulgaria in previous fixtures, and dem go need all di support from home crowd to get another victory for Sunday.
“We don set di standard with di first leg, we go play our game and no dey allow dem pressure us,” Doherty talk for di interview before di game. With dis confidence and di local support, di Boys in Green suppose fit hold dem ground and secure dia League B status.
