Gary Connaughton reporting from the Aviva Stadium
Stephen Kenny has named his Republic of Ireland team to take on Armenia this evening, making two changes to the side that lost 2-1 to Scotland at the weekend.
Ireland enter the game knowing that they will need to secure at least a point in order to secure their status in League B in the UEFA Nations League. While they lost to this opposition at that start of the campaign, they will expecting to get the three points this evening.
Gavin Bazunu retains his place in goal, while the back three is also unchanged from the game in Glasgow. Dara O'Shea, Nathan Collins, and John Egan will make up the centre of the defence.
Matt Doherty starts once again at right wingback, with Robbie Brady coming in for James McClean on the other flank.
Josh Cullen is ruled out of this fixture due to suspension, with Jeff Hendrick coming into the midfield alongside Jason Knight and Jayson Molumby.
Up front, Michael Obafemi will be partnered by Troy Parrott for the second successive game.
Here is the team in full.
STARTING XI | Ireland v Armenia
Robbie Brady & Jeff Hendrick come into the side replacing Josh Cullen and James McClean 🔁
Obafemi & Parrott get the nod up front for Ireland's last group game, with kick-off at 7.45pm 👌 pic.twitter.com/8FGNncOgIj— FAIreland ⚽️🇮🇪 (@FAIreland) September 27, 2022
Gavin Bazunu, Nathan Collins, John Egan, Dara O'Shea, Matt Doherty, Robbie Brady, Jayson Molumby, Jeff Hendrick, Jason Knight, Troy Parrott, Michael Obafemi.
Stephen Kenny will want to finish this group with a good performance and three points this evening, whereas a loss would be a real blow to this team moving forward. Getting relegated to the third tier of the UEFA Nations League would be a disaster, especially having had ambitions of winning the group before a ball was kicked.
Armenia showed in the return game that they can offer a threat if given the opportunity, although Ireland seem to be in a better place now than they were for the fixture in Yerevan.
They played quite well against the Scots on Saturday and you'd imagine that a repeat performance would be enough to get the job done on this occasion.
Here's hoping they can round out the campaign with a big performance.
SEE ALSO: Brian Kerr Questions Stephen Kenny's Selection In Loss Against Scotland
