Luxembourg vs Republic of Ireland preview, team news, stats, live on Sky Sports

Team news and stats ahead of Luxembourg vs Republic of Ireland in Group A of UEFA World Cup qualifying on Sunday, live on Sky Sports (kick-off: 7.45pm).

Team news

Republic of Ireland manager Stephen Kenny is hopeful Andrew Omobamidele will be fit.

The 19-year-old Norwich defender missed Thursday night's 0-0 Group A draw with Portugal in Dublin as he nursed an Achilles problem, but was due to train at the Stade de Luxembourg on Saturday evening.

Speaking at his pre-match press conference, Kenny said: "Andrew Omobamidele, we'll assess him in training this evening. Obviously he's not trained yet, but we're confident that he'll be fit, I think.

"We'll see how he goes."

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Duffy wants 'brilliant' Kenny to stay in charge

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Shane Duffy delivered a ringing endorsement of Republic of Ireland manager Stephen Kenny as his bosses prepare to sit down to discuss his future.

Kenny, who replaced Mick McCarthy in April 2020, will be out of contract next summer, but it is understood the Football Association of Ireland will make a judgement on his reign to date when they assess a World Cup qualifying campaign which draws to a close in Luxembourg on Sunday.

Ireland will not be at next year's tournament in Qatar after a disastrous start to their Group A fixtures, but Thursday night's 0-0 draw with Portugal in Dublin cemented a belief within the camp that a new-look team is making significant progress.

Opta stats

• Republic of Ireland have won five of their six matches against Luxembourg in all competitions, though they lost 1-0 in March in the reverse World Cup 2022 qualifier at the Aviva Stadium.
• Luxembourg have lost all three of their home games against the Republic of Ireland and have only netted one goal against them on home soil, a Léon Mart penalty in May 1936 in a 5-1 loss.
• Republic of Ireland have won two of their last four away matches (D1 L1), one more than in their previous 16 on the road (D7 L8). They haven't won consecutive away games since October/November 2016, beating Moldova and Austria under Martin O'Neill.
• Luxembourg have won two of their last five home World Cup qualifiers (D1 L2), only one fewer than they won in their first 64 home qualifying games (W3 D3 L58).
• Luxembourg have won three of their seven games in World Cup 2022 qualifying (L4), only the second time they've recorded as many as three wins in a single qualifying campaign in their history (also 3 for EURO 1996).
• Republic of Ireland have failed to score in 10 of their 19 games in all competitions under Stephen Kenny (53%), the highest percentage of any manager to have taken charge of more than two games for the national team.
• Gerson Rodrigues has been involved in seven of Luxembourg's eight goals scored in this qualifying campaign, scoring five and assisting two. Rodrigues scored the winner for Luxembourg in their 1-0 win against Republic of Ireland in the reverse fixture.
• Goalkeeper Gavin Bazunu has played six World Cup qualifying matches this campaign - at 19-years-old, his next game will see him equal the record for most competitive appearances as a teenager for Republic of Ireland, currently held by both Ian Harte and Robbie Keane with seven.

How to follow

Luxembourg vs Republic of Ireland will be shown live on Sky Sports Football from 7.30pm; kick-off 7.45pm. Sky Sports customers can watch in-game clips in the live match blog on the app. Highlights will also be published on the Sky Sports digital platforms and the Sky Sports Football YouTube channel shortly after the final whistle.

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