Stephen Kenny will have learned a lot from Ireland's impressive 2-2 draw with Belgium on Saturday, however, one thing that surely stood out from the clash with the world number one-ranked side was the importance of continuity in the team.
The high-profile visitors arrived in Dublin with manager Roberto Martinez leaving a large chunk of his starting eleven on sabbatical, and as a result, the Belgium side that played at the Aviva Stadium were unrecognisable from the team that will take to the field in their first World Cup match later this year.
Martinez had his reasons for bringing a second-string squad to Dublin, claiming he would have learned little from playing his first team regulars, yet what did he really learn from playing a completely new-look side?
Very little, you might imagine, and if it was individual performances that he was looking for, it is perhaps symptomatic of his side that they are known more for their player profiles rather than their team unity – and it has been exposed at the last few major tournaments.
Perhaps Kenny does not have the luxury of choosing from such a vast and talented pool of players compared his Belgian counterpart, however, the Ireland manager would appear to be more in tune with the need to have a recognisable and consistent contingent playing from game to game.
Momentum is one of the key words around this Ireland team in recent months, and having gone seven unbeaten, the manager is unlikely to allow that run to be threatened against Lithuania at Lansdowne Road tonight.
There will be changes, no doubt, but they will be limited and calculated, with experienced players like Seamus Coleman and perhaps James McClean sitting this one out, while bringing like for like from the next generation in to fill the few gaps.
Kenny will not get to work with the players again until the end of the English league season in May so he will be mindful of sending the squad off with a pep in their step, and he will again name a strong team, and certainly one that should prove too much for this travelling Lithuania side.
Expect to see Ireland a lot more patient in their play tonight, as they should have that bit more time on the ball to allow them to bring training ground routines into matchday situations, while a high press should be employed when not in possession.
This Ireland side have, it seems, worked out how to play against, dominate and score freely against lower ranked sides, and with Lithuania sitting in 137th place on the latest FIFA rankings, there are not many European sides lower – six as it happens.
Lithuania come into this game on the back of a victory on Friday night, however, sticking with the rankings theme, the team that they beat, San Marino currently lie in last place, 210th on the list.
Tonight’s opponents lost all-bar-one of their eight World Cup qualifiers in 2021, with their sole victory an impressive 3-1 win over Bulgaria, while they also only lost by a solitary goal away at group winners Switzerland.
Lithuania also managed a 1-0 defeat in Belfast during that campaign, so they have the power to frustrate decent sides, and as a result, the toughest task that Kenny’s side will face at Lansdowne Road tonight will be scoring that first goal.
As we have seen in games against Azerbaijan and Luxembourg away, when Ireland do manage to break these teams down, they now possess the quality and confidence to put games out of sight, and that will be the only option again tonight.
You might imagine that the attacking players will be champing at the bit to get a run out against weaker opposition, so it may come down to who is nursing a knock or experiencing a bit of muscle fatigue as to who sits this one out.
The manager more or less confirmed that Caoimhin Kelleher would start again in Gavin Bazunu’s absence, and while the Liverpool man did not have a lot of saves to make on Saturday, he will be keen to keep a clean sheet after being beaten twice against Belgium
John Egan is expected to captain the side, which essentially rules Seamus Coleman out, and the manager will probably look to get Dara O’Shea back into his starting XI, while he could also leave out Shane Duffy and hand another cap to Nathan Collins.
Ryan Manning came on for the final stages of the Belgium game, and it would make sense to see how he fares from the start of a game, sitting in for McClean at left wing-back, while Alan Browne deserves another cap following his superb equalising goal on Saturday, and could be asked to fill in for Jeff Hendrick.
The front three of Chiedozie Ogbene, Callum Robinson and Jason Knight have sparked up an interesting and effective partnership and while Kenny would be quite content to send the trio back out again, he may want to look at bringing Troy Parrott in from the start.
Who to drop from that dynamic trio? Unlikely to be man of the moment Chieo.
Ogbene has been receiving raves reviews from everyone who has been asked their opinion of the genial Cork man who was named player of the match against Belgium.
"I think he’s capable of doing anything he wants to do," said assistant manager Keith Andrews, when asked was Ogbene capable of playing in the Premier League.
"He’s been a breath of fresh air on and off the pitch. As a human being, he’s a special young man. We’re delighted to have him in and to see him flourish."
Another player who has improved dramatically, according to Andrews is Parrott, who he feels has made a dramatic change to his approach since the last international window in November.
Parrott has seen a change of fortunes at club level in recent months as well, cementing his place in the promotion-chasing MK Dons side, while really emphasising his work rate in both training and matches.
"Troy has been flying in training," said Andrews, when asked had he earned the right to start against Lihuania.
"There has been a real noticeable difference, I would say, in Troy between this and the last camp.
"You sometimes forget how young Troy is and I have had a lot of conversations with Troy, I've a really good relationship with him, around all aspects of being a footballer and the different avenues you are going to have to take and at times everything is not going to go to plan for you.
"I think, up until a certain point in Troy's career, he was just on that upward trajectory. And then there were a couple of loan moves, but they are invaluable experiences, absolutely invaluable.
"Even at MK Dons during that spell when he was a little bit out of the team, he pressed the reset button and just started to work hard.
"I think he has got his reward for that from his club manager and what we have seen this week, he has been really, really sharp, so there would be absolutely no qualms about Troy being involved.
"We got a lot of belief in him in terms of what he is capable of, and he is in a good place."
