Matchday eight of Euro 2024 qualifying sees Northern Ireland take on Slovenia on Tuesday night (19:45) at Windsor Park.

Both sides enter this clash off the back of a 3-0 victory, with the hosts getting the better of San Marino, while the visitors triumphed against Finland.

Match Odds

Northern Ireland are 12/5 to claim the three points, with the draw 21/10 and Slovenia 5/4 to emerge victorious.

The visitors managed to beat Northern Ireland 4-2 in their previous meeting, and a repeat of that scoreline is 90/1.

Dion Charles is 5/2 to score anytime, and 6/1 to be the first or last goalscorer.

Team News

Ali McCann has a calf problem for the hosts and joins the long list of regulars with long-term injuries such as Stuart Dallas, Shane Ferguson, Corry Evans, Conor Bradley and captain Steven Davis.

As for Slovenia, they have just one injury concern to contend with, as Matevz Vidovsek withdrew from the squad earlier in the international break due to a shoulder injury.

Slovenia to win @ 5/4

I’m not reading too much into Northern Ireland’s victory over a very poor San Marino side, however, Slovenia’s 3-0 win over Finland was impressive and I’m surprised to see them 5/4 for this game.

Michael O’Neill’s men have endured a miserable qualifying campaign up until this point, and aside from the aforementioned success against San Marino, Northern Ireland have lost their previous five matches.

Their opponents on Tuesday night currently sit top of Group H on 16 points, along with Denmark, and were 4-2 winners when the two teams last met back in September.

Northern Ireland don’t have anything to play for technically speaking, as qualification is out of reach at this point, but O’Neill will still want to ensure that his side finish the campaign strongly. However, despite their victory over San Marino, I can’t see them troubling Slovenia here, who will have top spot firmly in their sights.

Slovenia over 1.5 goals @ 13/8

As mentioned above, defences did not come out on top the last time these two sides met, and I’m expecting a similar story in Belfast on Tuesday night.

Slovenia have plenty to play for, and the visitors have found goals from numerous sources in qualifying as they bid to keep their status as group leaders here.

Discounting the victory against San Marino, the hosts have conceded eight goals in their previous five matches, losing in every encounter, so I think Slovenia are capable of breaching the Northern Ireland backline on multiple occasions come Tuesday.