Ireland vs Czech Republic Betting tips

A crack appeared in Southern Irish hearts when the Republic Of Ireland suffered a humiliating 5-2 defeat at the hands of Cyprus over the weekend, and all bearing green in Lansdowne Road on Wednesday will need to get behind Steve Staunton's men in a major way as they entertain the Czech Republic in a crucial Euro 2008 Group D qualifier. A 1-0 defeat away to Germany was no disgrace at all - a sterling effort on the part of ROI by all accounts - but to leave Cyprus with nothing but glum faces was pretty poor for a side so rich in talent, especially as the Cypriots went into that game on the back of being hammered 6-1 by Slovakia. Conversely, the Czech Republic, who currently lead Group D, approach this game with a full head of steam having beaten Slovakia 3-0 and then carrying out what can only be described as a demolition job when outpointing San Marino 7-0. The Czechs have an abundance of attacking flair within their ranks and if ROI defend against them like they did against Cyprus, then their will be trouble ahead. Steve Staunton was not everybody's first choice to succeed Brian Kerr, despite the fact that he amassed a record of 102 caps for his country. Now, the knifes are really being sharpened and, just ten months into the job, 'Stan' is facing a task akin to climbing Mount Everest if he is to alleviate the mounting pressure surrounding him. If, as is widely anticipated, Ireland lose this game, their hopes of qualifying for Euro 2008 will be irretrievably quashed. Andy Reid and Alan Quinn return to the squad after missing the Cyprus game, but a cloud of doubt lingers over Paddy Kenny, Stephen Ireland, Kevin Doyle and Andy O'Brien. In addition, Liam Miller picked up a foot injury in the Cyprus game and is definitely out, as are Shay Given, Steven Reid and Stephen Carr, and to add to the woe Richard Dunne is suspended after being sent off in Nicosia. All in all, an understrength squad and dented pride are not factors conducive to a bold show against a team of the Czech Republic's quality. While it would be fantastic to witness ROI rising to the occasion and getting something out of this game, it's hard to envisage them doing so, largely owing to their shaky defence. Indeed, the Irish defence will be in for a torrid time of it. And the man who is likely to cause most problems is the Borussia Dortmund hitman Jan Koller, scorer of a highly impressive 40 goals from 66 international appearances - and the towering striker is now back firing on all cylinders after picking up an injury which ruled him out of the World Cup Finals after just one game. The Czech's goalscoring capabilities are plentiful - midfielder Tomas Rosicky showcased his box of tricks and ability to produce a devastating end product in the World Cup Finals - but Koller remains the main man. He is an ever present threat, especially in the air, and at 9/4 with VCBet he looks cracking value to score anytime - he is just 6/5 to do so with Stan James! Ireland don't have anything to lose while the Czech Republic will see this game as an ideal opportunity to reassert their position at the top of the qualifying group. As such, it should be pretty high octane, end to end stuff. Ireland's current top scorer Robbie Keane will make a good fist of it up front for the home side, but a might be too little too late for him and ROI. Verdict - 2pts Jan Koller to score anytime @ 9/4 (VCBet)