Republic of Ireland and Wales will square off at Aviva Stadium in Dublin in the opening game of the newly established Carling Nations Cup. Both sides are looking to return to winning ways following the poor start to their respective Euro 2012 qualifying campaigns, so we expect an entertaining game in Dublin even if both teams will be without their key players.

Ireland on the uptrend

After missing out on the 2010 World Cup due to Thierry Henry’s blatant hand incident, Republic of Ireland continued their rich vein of form, having beaten Paraguay and Algeria before recording the narrow defeat to Argentina. Giovanni Trapattoni’s men also had a very good start to the Euro 2012 qualifying campaign as they beat Armenia and Andorra, before losing at home to Russia and sharing spoils with Slovakia. The Irish continue their campaign on March as they play host to Macedonia, so the game against Wales will be the perfect chance for the Italian boss to test some of the rising stars, especially as he will be without several important players.

Robbie Keane and James McCarthy are the latest players to have pulled out through injury, while Liam Lawrence and Keith Treacy are also out. Trapattoni confirmed Ciaran Clark and Seamus Coleman would start against Wales, with Andy Keogh and Keith Fahey also called into the squad.

Injury worries, what else is new?

After John Benjamin Toshack failed to get the best out of a very talented side, Wales chiefs decided it was time to sack the well-known manager and they appointed Gary Speed as his successor. With qualification to Euro 2012 already looking like mission impossible following three starting defeats, Gary Speed will be given time to build a new side that can hopefully challenge for a place at one of the big tournaments. The former Newcastle and Bolton midfielder faces a tough task in his first game in charge as several key players have already withdrawn from the squad, including captain Craig Bellamy and Arsenal hotshot Aaron Ramsey.

Dave Edwards, Boaz Myhill, Craig Morgan and Ched Evans also withdrew from the squad, while Danny Gabbidon, Gareth Bale, Craig Bellamy and Aaron Ramsey are out of the clash as well. As a result, six new players have been called to the squad.

Verdict

Republic of Ireland have significantly raised their profile under Giovanni Trapattoni and they have got to be considered favourites in this tie, as they have much more experienced and technically superior squad to Wales. Gary Speed is without his main stars and will, therefore, have to mostly rely on Championship players, so an honourable defeat is the best he can hope for.

Our prediction: Home win

Odds: 1.70 (7/10)

Bookmaker: William Hill