Can Ireland build on their slightly disappointing Gibraltar jolly when they host Georgia in Tuesday’s Euro 2020 qualifier?

The positives from Saturday’s fixture: the Irish picked up their first international victory since last June’s friendly win over the USA and their first competitive victory since October 2017’s win over Wales during the World Cup qualifiers. The negative: they only managed to beat Gibraltar – a side that conceded 6 goals at home to Armenia and 4 in Macedonia – 1-0, thanks to Jeff Hendrick’s goal early in the second half.

Nevertheless, it was, at least, a winning start to Mick McCarthy’s second stint as the country’s manager, and, more importantly, their Euro 2020 qualifying campaign. A woeful showing in the Nations League basically means they finish in Group D’s top 2 or that’s it, no continent-spanning 2020 for them.

Alongside Gibraltar and Tuesday’s opponents Georgia, their group also contains Switzerland and Denmark, who, despite fairly forgettable 2018 World Cups, both find themselves in FIFA’s global top 10. For the Swiss that has clearly come thanks to their play-off reaching performance in the UEFA Nations League, one that saw them beat out Belgium on goal difference. The Danes, meanwhile, are perhaps Ireland’s biggest recent nemesis; they beat them 5-1 in the World Cup qualifying play-offs, before holding them to a pair of goalless draws in the Nations League.

Admittedly absent from the World Cup, and stuck in the Nations League D (though not for much longer), Georgia had a decent 2018, winning 8, drawing once and losing once. They immediately stumbled on Saturday, however, losing 2-0 at home to Switzerland.

Heading into the fixture, Sheffield United’s David McGoldrick and Luton’s James Collins are both at Super Mega PGM’s of 22-27, while Preston’s Sean Maguire is at 20-24 and Millwall’s Aiden O’Brien is at 19-23. As for the visitors, Gent’s Giorgi Kvilitaia is at 12-16.

Unlike Ireland, Georgia already have a guaranteed spot in the Euro 2020 qualifying play-offs. And they may well need it, with Spreadex offering a Republic of Ireland/Georgia Goal Supremacy spread of 0.7-0.9, alongside a Total Goals spread of 2-2.2.