The Republic of Ireland’s players should have a huge amount of energy to harness from the Aviva Stadium crowd on Saturday evening when England visit Dublin for Heimir Hallgrímsson’s first game in charge.

The usual new era enthusiasm in Ireland’s ranks should be bolstered by a chance to rattle into the old enemy on Irish soil for the first time since 2015, so expect the hosts to raise their game against the beaten Euro 2024 finalists.

Ireland managed to score in 11 of their last 17 assignments in Dublin, while draws during that period against Portugal and Belgium (twice), along with narrow defeats to France and Netherlands highlighted the Boys in Green’s ability to mix it with bigger names.

Ireland averaged 14.12 shots and 4.87 attempts on target per 90 minutes during their failed Euro 2024 qualification campaign and with the hosts rarely outclassed on their own patch, they can make Saturday’s clash with Lee Carsley’s England a competitive end-to-ender.

The Three Lions’ run to the final of the Euros was an excellent achievement, though many of their matches went to the wire. Both teams scored in five of England’s final six fixtures at Euro 2024 in the summer, while they conceded more in xGA (7.20) than they mustered themselves at the other end (xGF – 6.00) at the tournament.

Ireland matched France (11-11) and the Netherlands (9-9) for attempts at goal in two high-profile fixtures at the Aviva Stadium last year, and they can match England blow for blow this weekend in similar style.

Our pick from the #WhatOddsPaddy options for Saturday’s game is built around the strong possibility of a keenly contested clash in the Irish capital.