Ryan Manning will make his Ireland debut as Stephen Kenny's side take on Bulgaria at the Aviva Stadium tonight in their Nations League finale, kick-off 7.45pm.
The Galway man will line up on the left side of the Ireland defence, while Dara O'Shea will start at right-back. Shane Duffy will captain the side, alongside Kevin Long at centre-back.
Up front, James Collins will lead the line after the Luton Town striker made an impression in Sunday’s clash with Wales as a second-half substitution.
Ireland have not won a game after seven matches played under the new manager, while they have failed to hit the back of the net in their last six games.
Ireland are once again missing many key players for this League B relegation battle where Kenny’s side need to avoid defeat to ensure their status for the next campaign.
Conor Hourihane will anchor the midfield alongside Jason Knight, who makes his first start after two appearances off the bench, with Robbie Brady in the more advanced role of the three.
Ronan Curtis will line out in the front three, and will most likely work off the left flank, while Daryl Horgan will begin on the right wing.
Callum O’Dowda missed out on the game through injury, while Troy Parrott will start on the bench having been promoted from the Under-21 side.
Bulgaria boss Georgi Dermendzhiev also had to use the depth of his squad with Covid-19 absentees Hristian Vassilev, Dimitar Velkovski and Vasil Bozhikov among 10 unavailable players.
He handed starts to Georgi Angelov, Cicinho, Aleksandar Tsvetkov and Dimitar Iliev.
Republic of Ireland: Darren Randolph; Ryan Manning, Kevin Long, Shane Duffy (capt), Dara O'Shea; Conor Hourihane, Jason Knight, Robbie Brady; Ronan Curtis, Daryl Horgan, James Collins.
Bulgaria: 1 Martin Lukov (GK); 2 Strahil Popov (capt), 3 Georgi Angelov, 5 Kristian Dimitrov, 6 Cicinho; 16 Kristiyan Malinov, 22 Aleksandar Tsvetkov, 9 Spas Delev, 18 Galin Ivanov 20 Dimitar Iliev; 10 Bozhidar Kraev.
