Republic of Ireland vs. USA Betting Preview and Pick
By: Al Hain-Cole
Goal.com
Martin O’Neill will be hoping to bounce back from his first defeat as Republic of Ireland manager when his side takes on the USA in a friendly at the Aviva Stadium on Tuesday (2:45 p.m. ET, ESPN2).
The Boys in Green were edged out 1-0 in a hard-fought Euro 2016 qualifier at Scotland on Friday but are +130 favorites with the Westgate SuperBook to secure a morale-boosting win here.
Their opponents suffered a 2-1 defeat in an exhibition match against Colombia in London that same evening and are +230 outsiders to come out on top in Dublin.
Jurgen Klinsmann’s men had drawn two successive matches prior to the Craven Cottage clash, and you can get odds of +220 on them playing out another stalemate in this one.
While the Scotland result was a disappointment, O’Neill insisted that it will not derail his team’s qualification campaign in a tight Group D.
With four of the next five matches to be played at home, the former Celtic manager is adamant that the Dublin crowd can help guide the hosts to France 2016.
The home support will certainly be keen to show their appreciation for a team that have generally acquitted themselves well in qualification so far, with a tricky away win in Georgia being followed by an emphatic 7-0 victory over Gibraltar before they secured a fantastic point away to world champions Germany.
After the slight disappointment in Glasgow, the hosts will therefore be determined to end 2014 on a high in their final fixture of the year, when their under strength opponents should prove eminently beatable guests.
Having already left star players Clint Dempsey and Michael Bradley at home for the Colombia game, Klinsmann has now allowed Jermaine Jones, DeAndre Yedlin, Lee Nguyen and DaMarcus Beasley all to return to the States in order to prepare for the MLS play-offs.
With a number of youngsters and untried internationals likely to take to the field for the USA as a result of the players returning to their MLS clubs, those +130 odds appear strong value on Ireland returning to winning ways in the capital.
Goal.com best bet: Republic of Ireland to win at +130.