Greece vs Ireland Prediction: Hosts to come out on top

Greece will be buoyed by their 2-1 victory over England at Wembley Stadium on Thursday, which was dedicated to the late George Baldock. They take on the Republic of Ireland on Sunday (19:45, YouTube) in Piraeus as they bid to win their fourth Uefa Nations League match in a row.

Ireland picked up three points in their last outing, too, as they can from behind to beat Finland 2-1 in Helsinki. Read on for my Greece vs Ireland prediction, featuring match odds and team news.

Greece vs Ireland Odds

Greece are 4/5 to win this contest, giving them an implied probability of 55.6%. Ireland are valued at 3/1, or a 25% chance, to take the three points. The draw can be backed at 23/10 (30.3%).

Both teams to score is marketed at 5/4 and over 2.5 goals is on offer at 6/4.

Football Odds

Team News 

The hosts are unable to call upon the services of defender Konstantinos Koulierakis for this match after he picked up his second booking in the Nations League, so he must serve a one-match ban.

Pantelis Hatzidiakos and Panagiotis Retsos will fight it out to replace him in the heart of defence. It remains to be seen whether Liverpool's Kostas Tsimikas will have a role to play on Sunday after he missed the England win due to illness.

Boss Ivan Jovanovic could be tempted to bring in some fresh legs for this match as Thursday's triumph will have no doubt taken a physical toll on his players. The likes of Petros Mantolas and Dimitrios Pelkas will be hoping for a promotion from the bench to the forward line.

Ireland lost Callum O'Dowda to injury before facing Finland, so the Cardiff City man remains unavailable for selection.

Young striker Evan Ferguson was given a start last time out as he bids to get his career on track after a difficult 12 months. He had an early goal ruled out against Finland but didn't have as much of an impact as he would've liked in the game.

Heimir Hallgrimsson could opt to start AZ Alkmaar's Troy Parrot up top for this one, seeing as the player has been scoring consistently for the Eredivisie side in 2024/25, while Celtic's Adam Idah could also be under consideration.

Greece and both teams to score @ 4/1

Greece fully merited their win over England despite snatching it right after the death. It marked three wins in a row and now they are in the driving seat of League B Group 2, and they can extend their advantage by beating Ireland for the second time on Sunday.

The Boys in Green will have picked up some confidence after coming from behind to defeat Finland last time out, but the truth is, this is going to be a much tougher task for them.

Greece were much better than them when they played last month and they now have the confidence gained from beating Euros finalists England. They are in a strong position now and they will have a spot in the top tier of the Nations League firmly in their sights, so they will be driven to make it four from four in Piraeus.

Having beaten the Boys in Green already, they have the psychological factor going in their favour too. They did win the last meeting 2-0 but I think Ireland can get on the scoresheet this time around as they have shown vast improvements in front of goal, and they are striving for more.

Vangelis Pavlidis anytime goalscorer @ 15/8

This man was Greece's hero against the Three Lions thanks to his two goals in the 2-1 victory, and so I think Vangelis Pavlidis will be raring to go again on Sunday. After opening his Nations League account last time out, Pavlidis will be thinking that he can start scoring more frequently, and he will have a great chance to find the back of the net for a second successive game against Ireland.

The striker has needed a confidence boost over this international break because he has had a slow start at Benfica following his summer transfer from AZ Alkmaar. The 25-year-old has two goals in eight Primeira Liga appearances so far, and he will be desperate to deliver high numbers after his stunning 29-goal haul in the Eredivisie last season.

Last month, fellow forward Fotis Ioannadis was the star striker in the Greece squad as he netted three goals in the two victories over Finland and Ireland. With him not in this month's squad, Pavlidis has been grasping his opportunity with both hands and his goals on Thursday delivered Greece their first-ever win against England.

He will be relishing the chance to add another to his tally against Ireland to send him back to Benfica in high spirits, so I think he is worth backing to score again in this match.

Offers

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