Republic of Ireland vs Belgium Predictions

• Republic of Ireland are unbeaten in six (W3, D3), a run that has included draws with Portugal and Serbia.
• Ireland are unbeaten in their last six home friendlies in a run stretching back to 2017.
• Belgium have just one win in their last four games (D1, L2).
• Belgium boss Roberto Martinez has opted against calling up a number of his star men.

Improving Ireland face Belgium test

The Republic of Ireland have found a bit of form of late and are unbeaten in their last six games ahead of the visit of an unfamiliar looking Belgium side for a friendly on Saturday.

Visiting manager Roberto Martinez has left a number of big names out of his experimental squad for the friendly against the Irish and next week’s meeting with Burkina Faso in order to give his fringe men the chance to impress as he ponders his squad for the World Cup later this year.

Belgium are without Kevin De Bruyne, Romelu Lukaku, Eden Hazard, Yannick Carrasco and Axel Witsel, among others, and Saturday’s game could be a lot closer than the odds suggest.

Underdogs Ireland can get a result

As mentioned earlier, Ireland are unbeaten in their last six games and that run includes a couple of tough fixtures in qualifying against Portugal and Serbia, which both finished all square in Ireland.

Stephen Kenny’s men tend to be tough to beat at home and they haven’t lost a home friendly international since 2017, so the hosts in the double chance market stands out for the main bet.

Belgium have only managed one win in their last four games and they were held to a 1-1 draw in Wales in their last outing. With their star men absent, the Red Devils look worth opposing here.

Spoils could be shared

Ireland may be tough to beat at home but recently they’ve found wins hard to come by too and six of their last nine home games have been draws (W1, L2).

Kenny’s men have also only scored more than one goal in one of those nine games and two of their last four home games have finished 1-1, so a 1-1 result looks to have a chance in the correct score market.