UEFA NATIONS LEAGUE GROUP B1
Scotland v Republic of Ireland, Hampden Park, 7:45pm
TV
Live coverage of all the build-up and match action from the Hampden Park from 7pm on RTÉ2. Streaming live online on RTÉ Player.
RADIO
Live radio coverage on Saturday Sport Extra on RTÉ Radio 1 from 7:30pm.
ONLINE
We'll have a live match tracker on rte.ie/sport, the RTÉ News app, as well as updates and goals on RTÉ Soccer Twitter and RTÉ Sport Facebook.
WEATHER
A dry and mild September evening is forecast for Glasgow come kick-off time, with no winds to speak of and a high of 13c.
OPTIMISM IS ON THE RISE AGAIN
When Ireland welcomed Scotland to the Aviva Stadium last June, the mood around the Irish camp was a lot different.
For the first time in his tenure, it felt that pressure was slowly growing on manager Stephen Kenny after a shock defeat to Armenia and a 1-0 reversal against Ukraine prior to the Scotland game.
Ireland went into that clash still in search of their first win in the Nations League with much of the feel-good factor around the squad fading.
Kenny's side answered the doubters emphatically, putting in the best performance of the manager’s spell in charge and cruising to a 3-0 victory. They followed that up with a credible 1-1 draw with Ukraine and suddenly there’s reason for hope again.
That poor start to the Nations League campaign has left Ireland playing catch-up. They remain just a point clear of Armenia at the bottom and Kenny will be demanding a result against the Scots and then against the Armenians in their final game at the Aviva Stadium next Tuesday.
Ireland can still, mathematically at least, top the group but they need to beat Scotland and Armenia and hope that Armenia either win or draw against Ukraine, and then that Scotland and Ukraine ends in a draw on Tuesday.
It’s an admittedly unlikely sequence of events but Kenny will be emphasising the fact that there’s more than just pride for Ireland to play for.
KENNY HAS TOUGH CALLS TO MAKE
The manager’s team selection and his line-up have increasingly come under scrutiny and the manager has some big choices to make in Hampden, not least in defence.
The tried and trusted defensive trio of Seamus Coleman, Shane Duffy and Matt Doherty are all short on minutes and match action this season and the manager insists that he won’t be shy about making the hard decisions.
'I wouldn’t be afraid of leaving anyone out," he said when asked about Coleman and Duffy.
"I don’t think I’d be sitting here if that was the case. You always have to make tough decisions.
"They are two brilliant people in the group, both had tremendous careers, both are Premier League players and both are out of their teams at the moment, only seven games into the season.
"Sure, they’ll get opportunities to get back into Everton and Fulham teams respectively. They’ve been great servants for Ireland. They still have a big part to play for us."
Doherty meanwhile is hoping that he will get the nod against the Scots and has been given the blessing of Tottenham manager Antonio Conte to start against both Scotland and Armenia.
"I feel ready to start," said Doherty. "We train really hard at club level and if you’re not starting games, you’re ready to start, even if you’re not coming off the bench.
"[Conte] wants me to come away and try and get two games in, he kind of said in his press conference that I would be available after the international break fully for selection. That's kind of the plan, if Stephen obeys him!"
Elsewhere at the back, Gavin Bazunu looks certain to return between the sticks, returning to the international squad following injury, while Nathan Collins is again expected to line up alongside John Egan despite his red card for Wolves against Manchester City last week.
Kenny has been talking up Robbie Brady’s prospects of starting at left wing-back, while most Ireland supporters will hope to see both Michael Obafemi start up front Chiedozie Ogbene, given Ogbene’s club form and Obafemi’s performance against Scotland last time out.
SCOTLAND OUT FOR REVENGE
Scotland appear to be back to their best after, what they would term an off-day against Ireland back in June.
The Scots came into that game off the back of the crushing disappointment of missing out on a place as the Qatar World Cup.
A limp performance against Ukraine in their World Cup qualifier play-off semi-final ended hopes of appearing at their first finals since 1998 and that appeared to still be playing on their minds when they were someway off their best in the 3-0 defeat at the Aviva Stadium.
A impressive 3-0 victory over Ukraine at Hampden on Wednesday suggests that Steve Clarke’s men are firing on all cylinders once again and they welcome Ireland to the same venue with revenge on their minds.
"We weren’t at it that day," Che Adams said. "There are no excuses.
"Now we have to put that right at the weekend and show what we are about. They will have seen that result against Ukraine and they will be worried.
"We owe Ireland now from the summer. It is going to be a good game and I’m excited for it."
Adams’ team-mate John McGinn is off the same mind.
"That night in Ireland epitomised everything that was going wrong in the summer so we certainly have to try and avenge that on Saturday.
"It’s not a case of just turning up just because we beat Ukraine at home. We’re aware of that.
"We need to put in the same performance as the other night and play the complete opposite way to what we did in Dublin."
