Northern Ireland team captain Steven Davis. (Photo : Getty Images)
FIFA 30th-ranked Northern Ireland (0-0-1, 1 point) will host 201st-ranked San Marino (0-1-0, 0 points) in a 2018 FIFA World Cup UEFA qualifiers match at their home field of Windsor Park in the country's capital city of Belfast on Oct. 8, Saturday.
Start Time and Streaming Info
The game starts at 7:45 p.m. UTC+1. It can be viewed live online thru FuboTV.
Northern Ireland visited the Czech Republic on Sep. 4 at the Generali Arena in Prague to open their World Cup qualifying stint and their match ended in a goalless draw, as per SkySports.
The Czech Republic dominated the game from kickoff but head coach Michael O'Neill's side was able to prevent them from scoring a goal despite their relentless attacks.
However, the best chance of the game was from Sunderland midfielder Paddy McNair, who unleashed a striker from 18 yards out from a pass by defender Conor McLaughlin at the 29th minute.
The Czechs kept the pressure in the second half and came close to breaking the deadlock, but defender Filip Novak missed a five-yard shot with goalkeeper Michael McGovern in front of him.
O'Neill's boys pulled off several defensive plays from then on as the two teams shared a point each in the Group C standings.
Meanwhile, a 10-man San Marino side was nipped by fellow low-ranked squad Azerbaijan, 0-1, at their home turf of San Marino Stadium in Serravalle also on Sep. 4, ESPN reported.
Azerbaijan forward Ruslan Qurbanov netted the winning goal of the match right in the 45th minute to hand head coach Pierangelo Manzaroli's team an opening round loss.
San Marino tried to find the equalizer, but defender Cristian Brolli was sent off at the 52nd minute after getting booked with a second yellow card following a crunching tackle on Qurbanov and so La Serenissima's comeback bid faltered since then.
The Norn Iron are overwhelming favorites to win in this match versus San Marino.
Prediction and Predicted Lineup
The predicted result is a 3-0 rout for Northern Ireland.
Northern Ireland starting lineup (4-5-1 formation): McGovern; McLaughlin, McAuley, Evans, Ferguson; Ward, McNair, Norwood, Davis, Dallas; Lafferty
San Marino starting lineup (5-4-1 formation): A. Simoncini; Della Valle, Cesarini, D. Simoncini, Palazzi, M. Berardi; F. Berardi, Tosi, Chiaruzzi, Hirsch; Vitaioli
