Ireland will go looking for a first win in 7 games under Stephen Kenny and be hoping to score a goal, having drawn a blank in their last 6 outings when they face Bulgaria this evening at the Aviva Stadium.
The fixture in Group B4 of the Nations league, is one Ireland must not lose if they are to avoid relegation from the group, which would result in tougher seeding for up coming European and World cup draws.
Kenny has seen his preparations been disrupted with injuries, suspensions and a number of Covid 19 positive cases.
With 13 of his original 26 man panel now unavailable a number of fringe players have been called into the squad with an opportunity to pick up their first caps.
Among those to get the call are the Shamrock Rovers duo of Aaron McEneff and Graham Burke while Troy Parrot and Jack Taylor have been moved up from the Under 21 panel.
A draw for Ireland would see them stay in League B, while a victory would be a welcome and indeed confidence boost to both the panel and management as well as ensuring they would be in contention for Pot 2 of the World cup qualifying draw.
Kick off is at 7:45pm