Ireland vs Greece: Prediction, Betting Tips and Odds for Nations League Clash

After a less than encouraging display against England, Heimir Hallgrímsson's Ireland side go again on Tuesday as they welcome Greece to the Aviva in a crucial Nations League clash. Here's all you need to know about Ireland v Greece.

On Saturday evening, with England dominating proceedings from early on, the pre-match buzz around the Aviva slowly faded as Lee Carsley's men took control and gave the home crowd very little to cheer about.

Two fine goals scored by former Irishmen Declan Rice and Jack Grealish topped off a miserable evening for the Boys in Green.

The Icelandic head coach and his players have a huge opportunity to redeem themselves however as Greece come to the Aviva in a massive match in the context of this group.

On the back of their 3-0 defeat of Finland on Saturday evening, Ivan Jovanovic's Greek side will come to Dublin full of confidence having easily defeated the boys in green in the same venue 11 months ago.

The game will take place this Tuesday September 10th at the Aviva Stadium with a 7:45pm kick off.

RTÉ2 will live broadcast the game with coverage beginning from 7.20pm.

Ireland will be looking to overcome the disappointment of a 2-0 defeat at the hands of England on Saturday. Although never fancied to win that game, they will be hoping to put on a better show for the home crowd here, having never looked threatening throughout.

Greece meanwhile cruised to a 3-0 win over Finland in their opening Nations League clash and currently sit top of the group. They will be hoping for another three points here as they look to challenge England for top spot in the group.

Ireland’s opening fixture in the UEFA Nations League was lacklustre, as they struggled to create significant scoring opportunities, managing only one shot on target and generating just 0.65 xG. Their lack of offensive threat raises concerns about their ability to pose a challenge in this competition.

Greece, on the other hand, started their campaign with an impressive 3-0 win over Finland. However, the scoreline somewhat flattered them, as their finishing was far above average. Greece converted 3 of their 9 shots, achieving a remarkably high conversion rate.

To put that in perspective, Brentford currently hold the highest conversion rate in the Premier League at 21.7%, and even Erling Haaland’s prolific 2022/23 season ended with a conversion rate of about 34%. Despite the scoreline, Greece only produced 1.47 xG, suggesting their finishing was clinical rather than a result of creating high-quality chances.

Given these factors, the best bet for this match seems to be under 2.5 goals. Ireland have seen 2 or fewer goals in 16 of their last 25 home games, while Greece has experienced the same outcome in 11 of their last 17 away fixtures.

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Ireland’s recent form has been underwhelming, with the team losing three of their last five matches and scoring in only one of those games—a notable 2-1 victory against Hungary. Their struggles are further highlighted by their home form, where they have failed to score in three of their last five outings.

Four of these games have seen two or fewer goals, with the exception being their impressive win over Hungary. While the competitive nature of the upcoming fixture might offer Ireland a chance to improve, their recent performances suggest it won’t be an easy task.

Over their last five home matches, Ireland has averaged just 1.8 shots on target per game, surpassing two shots on target only once during this period. This indicates a recurring issue in creating and converting opportunities, which is likely to persist against a disciplined Greek side.

Given these statistics, we can expect a similar low-output performance from Ireland when they face Greece, making a high-scoring game unlikely.

Greece’s recent form has been quite impressive, with the team winning three and drawing one of their last five matches, their only defeat coming against Germany. At home, Greece has shown their attacking prowess, securing dominant victories such as two 5-0 wins and a 3-0 triumph over Finland at the Karaiskakis Stadium.

However, their performances away from home have been less prolific, though they typically manage to find the net at least once, averaging 1.25 goals in their last four away matches.

Despite their ability to score on the road, Greece’s away games have generally been low-scoring affairs, with only one of these four matches featuring over 2.5 total goals. This suggests that while Greece can be relied upon to score away from home, they are not necessarily involved in high-scoring encounters.

This fixture between Ireland and Greece is expected to be a closely contested match, with the teams ranked 58th and 54th respectively. Ireland, however, are currently in a promising phase, developing some decent quality within their squad, featuring talents like Szmodics, Idah, and Kelleher.

Despite this, Greece has historically had the upper hand in this matchup, winning four of the last five meetings between the two nations. Only one of these encounters has seen over 2.5 goals, with their matchups averaging just 1.4 goals per game since their first meeting in 2000, highlighting the typically low-scoring nature of this rivalry.

Their last two meetings were more recent, as both teams were in the same group during the Euro qualifying campaign in 2023. Greece emerged victorious in both games, including a solid 2-0 win away at Lansdowne Road.

This historical dominance and the tendency for low-scoring games suggest a tight, competitive clash, where Greece’s recent form against Ireland may once again come into play.

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I recommend waiting for confirmed team line-ups before placing any bets.
All odds displayed correct at the time of publishing.

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You can watch Ireland vs Greece in the Nations League at 7.45pm on Tuesday 10th September, live on RTE2

Greece to win & under 3.5 goals v Ireland1pt 2-1 Coral, Ladbrokes

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Ireland 9-5Greece 13-8Draw 21-10

Odds correct at time of publishing

Ireland will be seeking a positive response following Saturday’s 2-0 defeat to England in their Nations League opener – but Greece are more likely to add to their woes at the Aviva Stadium.

Saturday's limp loss to England was Ireland's first outing under Icelandic boss Heimir Hallgrimsson and it was further evidence that the Boys in Green lack the creativity and firepower to compete with elite nations.

Ireland registered only one shot on target as first-half goals from Declan Rice and Jack Grealish, both of whom represented Ireland in their younger years, condemned Hallgrimsson’s side to defeat.

It means that Ireland have now won only three of their last 14 internationals. Two of those victories came against minnows Gibraltar while the other was in a home friendly against Hungary in June.

Ireland have also failed to score in five of their last seven matches and with Brighton hotshot Evan Ferguson still working his way back to full speed following a spell on the sidelines, reliable striking options are thin on the ground for Hallgrimsson.

Greece are a long way below the level that inspired them to Euro 2004 glory, but there have been clear signs of a resurgence recently and they should be feeling pretty confident following Saturday’s 3-0 home victory over Finland.

Ivan Jovanovic’s side have lost only two of their last ten matches in normal time and those defeats were by a one-goal margin against heavyweight nations Germany and the Netherlands.

Greece have held France to a 2-2 draw in that time and they have recent form against Ireland too, having defeated them home and away in Euro 2024 qualifying last year.

The Greeks were 2-0 winners at the Aviva Stadium in October and, given Ireland are finding goals hard to come by, they may be able to maintain that superiority.

The visitors have kept six clean sheets in their last ten internationals while both teams have scored in only two of their last 12 outings, so this is likely to be another tight contest.

Greece are unbeaten in five previous meetings with Ireland, winning on four occasions.

IrelandGoalkeeper Gavin Bazunu is recovering from a long-term injury and defenders Shane Duffy and Enda Stevens were left out by new manager Heimir Hallgrimsson. Captain Seamus Coleman limped off in defeat to England and has been replaced in the squad by Festy Ebosele. Josh Cullen remains on the sidelines.

GreeceDimitris Kourbelis, George Baldock, Panagiotis Retsos and Giorgos Kyriakopoulos were four experienced players left out of Greece's squad for the opening round of Nations League fixtures.

Ireland (3-4-3): Kelleher; O'Brien, Collins, O'Shea; Doherty, Molumby, Smallbone, Brady; Ogbene, Idah, Szmodics.

Greece (4-2-3-1): Vlachodimos; Rota, Mavropanos, Koulierakis, Tsimikas; Mantalos, Bouchalakis; Bakasetas, Konstantelias, Pelkas; Ioannidis.