Skipper Josh Cullen is urging the Republic of Ireland's Under-21s to use their clash with Iceland to steel themselves for their return to European Championship qualification.
Noel King's side head into friendly battle at Tallaght Stadium on Thursday evening as they prepare for Tuesday's qualifier against Azerbaijan at the same venue.
Cullen said: "There is no better preparation than getting out on the pitch and playing. Match practice is really important, especially against quality opponents like Iceland.
"There is plenty of competition for places at the moment with a few lads pushing for a start and a few lads not coming into the squad until later in the week.
"Competition is always good for any squad and we need to make sure we get a good performance in against Iceland before the qualifier next week."
Ireland sit in second place in Group 5 with three wins from their opening five fixtures, two points behind leaders Germany at the halfway stage.
They will be without Manchester United keeper Kieran O'Hara and West Ham defender Declan Rice for the Iceland game with both on duty with the senior squad for Friday night's friendly in Turkey before joining up over the weekend.
Striker Olamide Shodipo, currently on loan at Colchester from QPR, is back in the fold after missing the qualifiers against Israel and Norway through injury, while there are places too for Cork City's Danny Kane and Derry City trio Ronan Curtis, Rory Hale and Ronan Hale.
