IRELAND FACE SERBIA at the Aviva Stadium this evening in what is arguably their biggest match of the 2018 World Cup qualifying campaign so far.

The Boys in Green go into the game on the back of a hugely disappointing display against Georgia in Tbilisi in which they were lucky to emerge with a 1-1 draw against the group’s sixth seeds.

Confidence among home supporters is therefore unlikely to be too high, particularly as they face a Serbian team two points ahead of them at the top of Group D.

Despite missing key players such as Nemanja Matic and Aleksandar Kolarov on the night, Serbia outplayed Ireland for large spells of the sides’ reverse fixture, which took place a year ago today at the Rajko Mitic Stadium in Belgrade.

Slavoljub Muslin’s team are unbeaten in seven Group D matches and will probably go into this game as slight favourites given their recent record and the superior calibre of players at their disposal.

That said, under Martin O’Neill, Ireland have traditionally tended to play well when their backs have been against the wall.

The unconvincing 1-0 win at home to Georgia in the last campaign was followed by the euphoria of beating Germany. At Euro 2016, the comprehensive 3-0 loss to Belgium came before the surprise triumph at the expense of Italy.

Martin O’Neill will be hoping for a similar reaction tonight after Saturday’s error-ridden performance in Tbilisi attracted plenty of criticism from fans and media alike.

So, with all that in mind, what do you think the result will be this evening?

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