Belgium vs Ireland: Match Preview, Predicted Line-ups and Dream11 Predictions

Belgium vs Ireland is the next international friendly match taking place in Aviva Stadium, Dublin on Sunday.

Belgium vs Ireland: Match Preview:

The Irish national team have had another disappointing qualifying campaign overall but we have noticed some significant improvements in their latest performances under Stephen Kenny.

These are mainly concerned with Republic of Ireland's defense as the team suddenly started to look much tougher to break down in the most recent games.Republic of Ireland have thus conceded only one goal in the last five matches (including a 4-0 win over Qatar in a friendly).

It is a great run of form if we know they have faced both Serbia and Portugal in the process, staying unbeaten against both top-two sides in their respective World Cup Qualifying group.

We fancy Republic of Ireland's chances of success even here against Belgium despite a huge gulf in quality between the two teams in terms of both roster and FIFA rankings.Speaking of rosters, though, the Belgians will be without their main stars here.

As a matter of fact, no player with 50 or more caps for the national team will feature Belgium's next two frindlies against Republic of Ireland and Burkina Faso.

Christian Benteke and Michy Batshuayi will thus likely lead the line, while the main stars in midfield will be Youri Tielemans, Thorgan Hazard, and Leandro Trossard.

Team News:

Ireland:

Republic of Ireland will be without Darragh Lenihan, who has been forced to withdraw from the squad through injury, while there are notable absentees in the shape of Jamie McGrath and Adam Idah.

Callum Robinson, who has scored seven times for his country, is expected to lead the line, while Troy Parrott and Chiedozie Ogbene could also feature in the final third of the field.

A back three should include the captain Seamus Coleman, while Matt Doherty and James McClean are likely to play in the wing-back positions for the home side in Dublin.

Belgium:

As for Belgium, Martinez decided to leave the likes of Thibaut Courtois, Kevin De Bruyne, Yannick Carrasco, Eden Hazard, Dries Mertens and Romelu Lukaku out of the squad in order to hand opportunities to other players pushing to be involved at the World Cup.

As a result, the away side will not be at full strength for this match, but there are still expected to be Premier League representatives in the shape of Youri Tielemans and Divock Origi.

There are five uncapped players in the Belgium squad, including Blackburn Rovers goalkeeper Thomas Kaminski, and all five will be hoping to be involved during the international break.

Belgium vs Ireland: Head to Head:

Belgium boast a slight upper hand in the history of this fixture, claiming six wins from the last 15 meetings between the sides. Ireland have picked up two fewer wins in that time, while five games have ended all square.

Recent performances in all competitions:

Belgium:

1-0 win over Belarus

3-2 loss against France

2-1 loss against Italy

3-1 win over Estonia

1-1 draw against Wales

Ireland:

1-1 draw against Azerbaijan

1-1 draw against Serbia

3-0 win over Azerbaijan

0-0 draw against Portugal

3-0 win over Luxembourg

Belgium vs Ireland: Predicted Line-ups:

Belgium Predicted XI (3-4-3): Simon Mignolet; Dedryck Boyata, Arthur Theate, Jason Denayer; Alexis Saelemaekers, Hans Vanaken, Youri Tielemans, Thorgan Hazard; Jeremy Doku, Dvock Origi, Leandro Trossard

Republic of Ireland Predicted XI (3-4-3): Gavin Bazunu; Seamus Coleman, Shane Duffy, Josh Egan; Matt Doherty, Josh Cullen, Jeff Hendrick, James McClean; Troy Parrott, Callum Robinson, Chiedozie Ogbene

BEL vs IRE: Dream11 Predictions: