International Preview: Republic of Ireland -v- Oman

IRELAND

On the cusp of their intriguing European qualifying campaign, Martin O' Neill's Republic of Ireland welcome Oman to the Aviva Stadium, Dublin for one final friendly test (kick off is scheduled for 7:45 pm).

And it's batten down the hatches time as the Boys in Green go in search of their first win of the year following a series of disappointing results both at home and on the road.

Yet aside from a 5-1 thumping at the hands of Portugal back towards the beginning of June at the MetLife Stadium, the Irish have pushed many opponents hard under the new regime, and will be expecting to pick up a morale-boosting win before they travel to Georgia to kick-start their drive to France 2016.

In particular, they looked good against Italy and should have had the Turkey game out of sight if not for some poor finishing, but this is a results-driven business and the fans will be hoping the squad can deliver when the crunch time comes.

But many will continue to be worried by the lack of forward-thinking that seems to permeate the set-up right now. Shay Given has been drafted back into the frame – something that hints at stagnation – and there's a sense of uncertainty in the air as to just how we'll cope without another Robbie Keane stepping up soon. And on the subject of the LA Galaxy striker being involved, O' Neill was upbeat.

“Robbie trained this morning and he’s feeling absolutely fine. He’s had no ill-effects from his strains and he’s feeling pretty good.”

But with two winnable games against Gibraltar and Georgia to ease them into qualification as well as Wednesday's game against Oman to come, there's plenty of time to get things right, iron out the creases and look forward to making things difficult for others.

OMAN

Underdogs for this one, Oman will be out to surprise the hosts with a powerful performance – but it's not going to be an easy task away from home.

Looking forward to their AFC Asian Cup campaign that kick-starts in January 2015, Paul Le Guen's charges clearly have a lot of work to do to get out of their group which will see them compete against Australia, South Korea and Kuwait.

But their encounter in Dublin should provide them with a real indicator of just how far they have to go. Because if they can rattle the home nation, it will instil them with confidence for what lies ahead against the better Asian sides.

Impressively, a quick glance at their form guide reveals that they haven't lost since since their 1-0 defeat to Jordan over a year ago in a World Cup qualifying tie, and since then they've been pretty much unstoppable.

But they haven't faced top-notch opposition just yet, and Ireland will be a much bigger test than anything they've faced of late. 

All in all, though, it promises to be an intriguing encounter that should provide plenty of talking points for both parties.

MATCH STATS

Oman's form guide in the last five matches reads two draws and three consecutive wins, with their two most recent victories both coming against Uzbekistan.

On the other hand, Ireland's recent form looks a lot more distressing. Three defeats sandwich their two draws against the Italians and the Costa Ricans. Will the poor trend continue on Wednesday?

The last time these two sides met back in 2012, Ireland won easily, overcoming Oman 4-1.

In each of the last four matches they've rattled the net in, the Green Army have had four different goal-scorers with James McClean, Kevin Doyle, Jonathan Walters and Shane Long all hitting the target. But it's Wes Hoolahan who brings a hint of some much-needed consistency, providing the assist for two of those.

BETTING

Ireland 3/10; Draw 9/2; Oman 8/1

PREDICTION

In front of an expectant crowd, Ireland should pull through. A final score of 2-0.

Ireland

Injuries: Joey O' Brien (knee), James McCarthy

Doubtful: Jon Walters (strain)

Suspensions: None

Oman

Injuries: Imad Al-Hosni (omitted, searching for club)

Doubtful: N/A

Suspensions: None