Michael O’Neill has got Northern Ireland back on the up but they face a tough task in this World Cup qualifier against a wounded Germany side who are looking to bite back.
The former Newcastle and Hibs midfielder memorably led the Irish to Euro 2016 but successor Ian Baraclough couldn’t replicate that success and his two-year reign came to an end in 2022.
O’Neill made an emotional return to the hotseat but it took him a while to work his magic, with Northern Ireland finally hitting their stride during the last Nations League campaign.
Qualifying for the World Cup will be a tall order though, with Slovkia and Luxembourg the other two teams in Group A.
O’Neill’s side kicked off with a promising 3-1 win in Luxembourg on Thursday, as backing the Irish in the Asian handicap paid off for The Betting Desk.
Germany slumped to a shock 2-0 loss away to Slovakia in their opener so they will be looking to bounce back on home soil.
The Betting Desk fancied the Germans to win comfortably on Thursday but the Slovaks upset the odds.
Dropping more points against Northern Ireland is unthinkable so the pressure is on for boss Julian Nagelsmann.
Germany have never lost to Northern Ireland, winning nine of the 12 meetings and drawing the other three. They last met in the Euro 2020 qualifiers and the Irish suffered a 6-0 thrashing on German soil.
Probable line-ups
Nagelsmann should make a few changes after such a poor performance on Thursday while O’Neill is likely to stick with the players who served him so well in Luxembourg.
Germany: Baumann, Tah, Raum, Mittelstadt, Kimmich, Goretzka, Wirtz, Adeyemi, Woltemade.
Northern Ireland: Peacock-Farrell, Toal, Hume, McNair, Bradley, Devenny, McCann, S Charles, Galbraith, Reid, Price.
