The Republic of Ireland will be looking to build upon a laboured win in Gibraltar when they welcome Georgia to the Aviva Stadium tonight.
Jeff Hendrick’s strike proved enough to earn an unconvincing 1-0 win over the minnows, but manager Mick McCarthy will be looking for a better display in the first home match of his second spell in charge.
Georgia came away from their 2-0 defeat to group favourites Switzerland with plenty of credit, but in a fairly open group, the Irish will know the importance of taking six points from, in theory, the two weakest teams in it.
With likely qualification contenders Denmark and Switzerland facing each other in Basel, McCarthy’s men have the chance to set the early pace.
Prediction
Georgia are no mugs, and begin this campaign full of confidence after breezing their Nations League group with five wins from six games. The two sides met in qualification for the World Cup, and though Georgia earned a good point at home, the Irish should triumph again in Dublin.
Prediction: Republic of Ireland 1-0 Georgia
How to watch
The match will be shown live on Sky Sports Main Event and is available via Now TV with a day pass on offer for £8.99.
Sky Sports subscribers can stream the match online via SkyGo and the SkyGo app.
Kick-off is at 7:45pm(GMT).
