Ireland kick off their World Cup qualifying campaign in Belgrade tonight, with kick-off against Serbia slated for 7.45pm. It's live on Sky Sports and RTE.
On the face of it, a trip to Belgrade to play Serbia is a daunting prospect, but in reality, it is not as difficult a task as it looks on paper.
They failed to qualify for Euro 2016, finishing fourth in a five-team group. Given that the top two qualified and the third side qualified for the play-offs, to finish above only Armenia seems a mixture of being careless or inept.
The fact that they collected just four points in eight games lends further credence to the latter (they were docked three points as punishment following their game with Albania: the game was interrupted by a drone carrying a pro-Albanian flag, that led to home fans invading the pitch). Their qualifying group was won by eventual champions Portugal, with Albania in second and Denmark in third.
This qualification failure is not a new phenomenon: Serbia haven't qualified for a major tournament since 2010, and have burned through managers like they're going out of fashion since: Slavoljub Muslin will stalk the sidelines tonight, and will be the seventh different Serbia manager to do so in six years.
Serbia, do, however, have a few recognisable names in their squad. The good news from an Irish point of view is the fact that two of these - Nemanja Matic and Aleksander Kolarov - are suspended for tonight's game.
There are a few threats remaining in the squad however. We're not fully sure how the new manager will set out his team, but most are expecting a 3-4-3 formation. Here are some of the threats that they will carry:
Dusan Tadic
Shane Long's Southampton teammate has struggled for consistency in the Premier League, but when he finds form, he is a major threat. He is expected to start on the right side of a front three, despite the fact that his new club manager Claude Puel reckons he's better suited to a central attacking role. His dead ball delivery is good, and he has the intelligence to exploit space inside the Irish left-back, be it Robbie Brady or Stephen Ward. He has a highly respectable record of eight goals in 38 international games.
Branislav Ivanovic
An obvious one, but Ivanovic will be a serious threat on set-pieces. Ivanovic has worked his way back to form for Chelsea, despite the fact that his legs looked to have betrayed him at the beginning of last season. Ireland are lacking in direct runners to trouble Ivanovic as Swansea's Jeffers0n Montero did last season, with James McClean the likely best option in this regard. Ivanovic will captain the side, and is likely to play on the right of a back three.
Filip Kostic
Kostic is going to test exactly how fit Seamus Coleman is. Coleman hasn't played a competitive game since the French defeat at Euro 2016, and Kostic is likely to be preferred on the left of Serbia's front three to captain and ex-Man United player Zoran Tosic. Kostic plays with Hamburg in Germany, and is pacy and skillful, with the ability to whip in some extremely dangerous crosses.
Nemanja Maksimovic
Maksimovic is an exciting attacking talent who may well have his foward thrust curbed in the absence of protector Nemanja Matic. This would be a positive for Ireland, as his surging runs have troubled Serbian opponents in the past: he scored the winner in the World U-20 final against Brazil last year:
Maksimovic - who plays with FC Astana of Kazakhstan - was one of the shining lights of that team, and one of five who have earned the call-up to the senior squad since.
Some other names you may recognise include Lazar Markovic, on loan at Sporting from Liverpool, and Matija Nastasic of former Man City fame.
While any trip to Belgrade is a tough one, the loss of Matic could be an enormous disadvantage for Serbia.
Three points are realistic for Ireland, and should we get them, it would be one hell of a start.
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