There is going to be a clamour for Hoolahanās inclusion. I canāt see him starting.
Meyler will come back in for OāDowda to partner Arter in centre mid,
That means one out of Brady, Hendrick or McClean to be dropped for Hoolahan which isnāt going to happen.
I can still see us keeping an eye on their full backs as was the case on Saturday night with possibly Hendrick taking over from OāDowda on the right.
A completely out there possibility is that Brady goes to left back, Ward drops out and Hoolahan plays, Dunphy will be creaming himself if that team is picked.
Brady and McLean on both wings better suited to covering fullbacks ā Iād drop Hendrick no problem for Wes, Hendrick is offering very little this campaign. I cant see us making it stick too much up top unless we have a player that can play a pass or possibly turn a man - Wes has that ā youāll get a good 60 mins out of him. Iād go with Wes, Mclean, Brady, Arter and Meyler across the middle.
Thatās the only possible way that Hoolahan plays I think.
But I canāt see it happening at all. Ward is a far better defender than Brady, and crucially heās strong in the air which we need against their tall wide players. He was beaten for that late headed chance but heās a decent defender in the air for a full back. Brady would be much too exposed but if weāre chasing a goal late on then thatās the obvious switch - and one that OāNeill has often gone for.
Think Meyler would be the screener (cc @flattythehurdler and @gilgamboa) in that set up with Arter pressing harder and engaging them from in front.
That said, I think itāll be Meyler for OāDowda with Brady moving to wide right as the only change.
I wouldnāt be averse to us playing Hoolahan from the start in a diamond as I thought we were very good at home to Serbia in that set up. I thought it was our best home display of the group but it was also the only game we lost.
We need more from Brady and Hendrick but I acknowledge @Big_Dan_Campbell ās point that they havenāt benefited from continuity of role.
Overall, I think weāll take them on by doing what Cunningham said - pushing up higher as a unit, playing more aggressively and looking to overpower them and demoralise them. Probably bring on Hoolahan if needed in the last 20.
Martin will be setting us up to keep it at 0-0 for as long as possible. We havenāt been scoring goals at all, so we need to beat them to nil. Iād imagine weāll play exactly like we did Saturday, and hold the 0-0 till 60 or 70 minutes then try and steal it at the end.
I donāt disagree that heāll be okay if itās 0-0 after an hour but I really donāt think weāll be as reactive as Saturday. I expect us to push up on them and, to quote an old line, put them under pressure.
