The Republic of Ireland ’s first game of 2022 sees Stephen Kenny ’s charges take on world number one Belgium at home on Saturday evening.
In the first of back-to-back home friendlies - Lithuania will pitch up in Dublin on Tuesday - the Boys in Green take on Belgium for the first time since Euro 2016.
A brace from Romelu Lukaku and one from Axel Witsel sunk Ireland by a 3-0 margin in Bordeaux, but neither will be involved for the clash.
Belgium boss Roberto Martinez will stick to his policy of only selecting players with fewer than 50 caps in friendly games as he looks to build experience in his squad.
That means no Thibaut Courtois and Eden Hazard of Real Madrid, Kevin De Bruyne of Manchester City or Dries Mertens of Napoli in addition to Lukaku and Witsel.
They can still, however, choose from a frontline of Thorgan Hazard (Borussia Dortmund), Christian Benteke ( Crystal Palace ) and Divock Origi ( Liverpool, bound for AC Milan).
Kenny will be without key names of his own as Gavin Bazunu, Mark Travers and Darragh Lenihan have all had to pull out with injury, joining Adam Idah and Andrew Obamidele.
The Red Devils are among the favourites for the World Cup in Qatar this November having breezed through qualifying.
Chelsea coach Anthony Barry recently left the Ireland set-up to join Martinez’s staff, while the infamous Thierry Henry will also face Ireland for the first time since his handball in 2009.
These games will serve as a warm-up for Ireland's UEFA Nations League campaign, which had been due to kick off against Ukraine in June, but that fixture is likely to be rearranged.
What date is the match?
Saturday, March 26, 2022.
What time is kick-off?
Kick-off is 5pm.
Where is the match?
Aviva Stadium, Lansdowne Road, Dublin 4.
Who is the referee?
The referee is TBC.
Are there tickets available?
A limited number tickets are available from Ticketmaster here priced at €120.
Where can I watch it?
The game will be broadcast live on Sky Sports Premier League.
Can I stream it online?
Sky Sports subscribers can watch it on Sky Go or Now TV.
Who are they key players to watch?
With Bazunu and Travers both missing out, Caoimhín Kelleher looks set to get another shot between the sticks after impressing in recent friendlies.
The Liverpool keeper is set for a busy evening given the attacking talent, including his club teammate Divock Origi, at Roberto Martinez’s disposal.
Ireland will need to be clinical when chances present themselves and Troy Parrott may get a chance to show why he was named MK Dons’ player of the month recently.
Belgium may be missing a host of star names but they can still call on one of the Premier League’s top midfielders in Your Tielemans.
The Leicester City man has been an ever-present since making the switch from Monaco three years and offers creativity and a goalscoring threat.
Despite being just 19, Jérémy Doku has racked up ten international caps, scoring twice, and he will cause problems for the defence whether he starts or features off the bench.
Quotes Corner:
Kenny said: "I think that the players we're missing probably have a greater effect than the players they're missing.
"We're missing Adam Idah, Andrew Omobamidele, Enda Stevens who are frontline players for us. Callum O'Dowda is obviously missing.
"All of their players are from top teams in the European leagues. They have a formidable team, a world number one team.
“They have a formidable strength in depth and we're aware of that, and we don't, we have emerging players.”
Martinez said: “It’s too early to worry about the World Cup. Eden and Romelu are important members of the squad.
“It’s an unusual situation for them but there could be some movement during the summer and they have time to get back to form with their clubs.
“Today, all that matters is to prepare the World Cup the best way we can and to gather all the information we can in order to select the 23 best players in November.
“This international break will be useful in that sense. We’ve been top of the FIFA ranking for four years now, it’s a great performance.
“If I had to give a real importance to that ranking, I would say that I would prefer being at the top in January 2023.”
Betting:
Ireland 6/1; Draw 11/4; Belgium 4/9.
