Ireland vs Bulgaria Prediction: 17/2 scorer can help Irish to a comfortable win

Ireland were 2-1 winners in Bulgaria on Thursday night and look in control of their promotion/relegation playoff in the UEFA Nations League ahead of the reverse fixture on Sunday night (19:45, live on Prime Video).

Read on for my Ireland vs Bulgaria predictions, complete with the latest match odds and team news.

Ireland vs Bulgaria Odds

The Irish are 8/15 to secure a win at the Aviva Stadium, while Bulgaria are 5/1 to secure a victory, with the draw at 11/4.

Team News

Evan Ferguson had to settle for a place on the bench in the first leg and he faces competition for a start. Finn Azaz scored Ireland’s first goal on Thursday, while Celtic striker Adam Idah is also pushing for a starting role.

Hallgrimsson isn’t expected to make huge changes to his line-up. Matt Doherty netted the winner in the first leg and he’s in line for a 50th cap for his country.

Goalkeeper Dimitar Mitov went off injured early in the second half of the first encounter and he’s not expected to feature here.

Ireland -1 @ 6/4

The Republic of Ireland were good value for their win in Bulgaria, racking up 1.85 Expected Goals to their opponents’ 0.32.

A gulf between the pair should be expected, as Bulgaria were runners-up to Northern Ireland in their Nations League pool. The visitors were hammered 5-0 in Belfast to leave them second, so this shouldn’t be a difficult game for the hosts.

The Republic of Ireland had 12 shots in their first-leg victory and they’re backed to win this one handily. Given Bulgaria’s recent thumping north of the border, look to the hosts to cover a -1 handicap.

The Irish are expected to win comfortably, but they aren’t a side that tends to rack up a lot of goals. They’ve topped out at three in recent home victories, so a 3-0 home win is my correct score prediction at 10/1.

Nathan Collins to score anytime @ 17/2

One notable thing about Ireland’s win was the number of touches their defenders had in the opposition box. Not only did their right-back score the winner, but their centre-halves had multiple chances to get on the scoresheet.

Brentford’s Nathan Collins had two shots on goal for an xG of 0.29, while he had three touches in Bulgaria’s box. In addition, he was inches short of putting a finishing touch on a Troy Parrott cross with the goal at his mercy.

Only Azaz topped Collins’ xG tally and the defender has managed to get himself in good positions for his club side. Having seen plenty of opportunities on Thursday, Collins is a great anytime goalscorer option at 17/2.

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