Northern Ireland are sweating on their status in League C Group 2 ahead of their trip to Greece in the UEFA Nations League on Tuesday.

The hosts have already secured promotion to League B after winning their first four matches of the current campaign.

Match preview

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Indeed, after falling short of promotion from League C in each of the last two Nations League campaigns, Greece will feel that they are finally set to compete at a level more befitting of their talent and pedigree on the European stage.

The Euro 2004 winners set out with a point to prove this time around, winning each of their opening four games without conceding a single goal before losing 1-0 in nearby Cyprus on Saturday.

Gus Poyet's side dominated the proceedings with 71% possession, but they struggled to turn long periods on the ball into meaningful chances as Marinos Tzionis's 18th-minute strike proved to be the difference on the day.

Northern Ireland's victory over Kosovo meant that the defeat came without a cost, though, as their six-point lead over the Kosovans is unassailable with only one match remaining.

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Ian Baraclough's side's first win of the current Nations League campaign came in the most dramatic of circumstances, with Josh Magennis scoring an injury-time winner to turn the game on its head.

Vedat Muriqi looked to have kept Kosovo's hopes of topping the group alive by breaking the deadlock in the 58th minute, but Gavin Whyte equalised 25 minutes later before Magennis's late effort kept Northern Ireland's destiny in their own hands ahead of their trip to Greece on Tuesday.

However, Cyprus' win over Greece means that the Green and White Army remain level on points with the Cypriots and one point behind Kosovo going into the final matchday. Given that those two nations face each other on Tuesday, Northern Ireland must match or better Cyprus' result to guarantee their survival.

Having ended a winless run of five matches, they will feel confident of at least avoiding defeat in Athens against a team with very little to play for beyond personal pride.

Team News

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Greece will welcome Petros Mantalos and Georgios Giakoumakis back to their squad after the duo served a one-match suspension in the defeat to Cyprus.

Dinos Koulierakis will hope to make his international debut at some stage having been an unused substitute in Larnaca.

Northern Ireland, meanwhile, remain without Stuart Dallas due to a knee injury.

Whyte is pushing for a start after scoring a crucial equaliser from the bench against Kosovo, but Baraclough may look to add another defender or midfielder to his starting XI in order to make his team tougher to beat, with Shane Ferguson potentially receiving the nod.

Greece possible starting lineup:
Vlachodimos; Baldock, Mavropanos, Hatzidiakos, Tsimikas; Mantalos, Siopis, Kourbelis; Bakasetas, Giakoumakis, Masouras

Northern Ireland possible starting lineup:
Peacock-Farrell; McNair, Evans, Flanagan, Lewis; Bradley, Davis, Evans, Saville, Ferguson; Magennis

We say: Greece 1-1 Northern Ireland

We expect Northern Ireland to dig in and make life very difficult for Greece, who looked like a side going through the motions in their defeat to Cyprus at the weekend.

A point is likely to be enough to see the visitors survive in League C, so Baraclough may set his team up to attempt to avoid defeat first and foremost.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.

Written by
Brett Curtis

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