Estonia v Ireland

The Republic of Ireland will aim to put their play-off heartache behind them when they line up against Estonia in Friday’s first leg in Tallinn. They lost at this stage to Turkey in a qualifier for Euro 2000 and to Holland four years before that. But most recently, a controversial handball by Thierry Henry denied the Irish a chance to play in the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. This time, only a side who have never made it to a major tournament stand in their way.

It could be regarded as miraculous that Estonia are even in this situation at all. The former Soviet state has lost six of its last nine matches and failed to score a single goal in any of those defeats. Dramatic wins home and away to Northern Ireland and in Slovenia snatched an unlikely second place in Group C, ten points behind Italy. To put things in perspective, this is a team that lost 2-0 to the Faroe Islands as recently as June of this year - the only win that the minnows recorded in the whole campaign.

In contrast, Trapattoni’s side came close to winning Group B themselves, finishing just two points behind Russia with 21 points. The Republic’s defence has been little short of sensational; a run of over 800 minutes without conceding a goal only recently ended when Armenia scored an inconsequential consolation goal in a 2-1 defeat at the Aviva Stadium. A nine match unbeaten run includes a creditable 0-0 draw in Moscow and a 2-0 friendly win over Italy.

Ireland should have nothing to fear on this sort of form and most of the key players should be available for battle. A professional performance should allow Trapattoni’s boys to open up a first leg advantage. Back the defence to remain resolute; the Republic are 11/5 (Bet365) to be the only scorers on Friday night in Tallinn.