Chris Bevan
BBC Sport in Dublin

Half-and-half scarves are not usually an example of very much other than the rampant commercialism that exists in modern football but the ones on sale outside the Aviva Stadium show how much has changed in relations between England and Republic of Ireland fans in the last 20 years.

England's last visit to Dublin in February 1995 ended in a riot and the abandonment of their infamous friendly at Lansdowne Road but there is no sign of those tensions in the Irish capital today.

There is a peaceful atmosphere in the streets outside the stadium, with fans mingling and enjoying the sunshine. The Football Association is hoping for the same inside the ground and has written to all 3,000 England fans with tickets, asking them to behave appropriately and warning that sectarian chanting is not acceptable.

Image source, Getty Images

This is the first time for 20 years that Republic of Ireland and England have met in Dublin, but there will hopefully be none of the ugly scenes that marred the last meeting between the two.

Crowd trouble forced the game to be abandoned after 27 minutes with Ireland winning 1-0, and England boss Roy Hodgson hopes all the talk post-match today will only be about what happen on the pitch, and not off it.

"It's always important the fans conduct themselves in the right way," says Hodgson, who was at the 1995 game, which was played at the old Lansdowne Road. "It's a long time, 20 years, and I'd like to think relationships between Ireland and England have moved on incredibly in that time."

Image source, The FA

This will be Wayne Rooney's 104th appearance for England, but if Mick McCarthy had got his way, the striker could have been lining up for the Republic of Ireland today.

"I have Irish grandparents, so if they wanted to play for Ireland I'm sure they could have, but it was never something I thought about," he says.

"When I was at Everton [in 2001] Lee Carsley asked me about it [playing for Republic of Ireland] on behalf of Mick McCarthy but it never crossed my mind. I am English through and through and I have no issue with trying to beat Ireland. I am playing for England and I want to help England win."

Clive Allen
BBC Radio 5 live in Dublin

On Wayne Rooney closing in on Sir Bobby Charlton's record of 49 England goals: "You just want to score in every game you play. That's the approach Wayne will have and that's what will get him to the target.

"I'm sure he told Roy Hodgson that he wanted to play and the atmosphere will be conducive to a game that Rooney will love to play in.

"There's no doubt he could add 15 goals to his tally and that will set a really tough target for anyone in the future to match."

Image source, Getty Images

Charlie Austin and Jamie Vardy are not alone in today's game being a potentially significant one.

Wayne Rooney is two goals shy of equalling Bobby Charlton's all-time goalscoring record for England of 49, and the Manchester United forward is a confirmed starter against the Republic of Ireland.

If he doesn't equal the record today, he'll have another chance in the Euro 2016 qualifier against Slovenia next Sunday.

"It will be great if and when it comes," he says. "First we want to finish the season well with two victories from two tough games."

Clive Allen
BBC Radio 5 live in Dublin

On Roy Hodgson's decision to start Phil Jones at right-back: "It's a bit of a surprise. Maybe Nathaniel Clyne has an injury or a knock that means he cannot start.

"Jones does not look accomplished at right-back. His best position is right centre-back. It's a little bit of an experiment from Roy Hodgson to see if he can do a job there if needed at future games."

Johnny Magrinho: Why on Earth not start Austin? Fail to see why these friendlies are not used to experiment with form and tactics. Waste of time.

Thoughts on today's teams then? Disappointed not to see Charlie Austin or Jamie Vardy get a chance from the outset, or is Hodgson right to ease them in?

Have your say via #bbcfootball, text in on 81111 (UK only) and join the discussion on the BBC Sport Facebook page.

Chris Bevan
BBC Sport in Dublin

"The Republic of Ireland camp tried their best to swerve repeated questions about Fifa's controversial pay-off to the Football Association of Ireland in their press conference on Saturday but it is a lot harder to avoid the subject today.

"For a start, Ireland's friendly against England is the first game at the Aviva Stadium since it emerged that Fifa put 5m euros (£3.6m) towards its construction to stop legal action following Ireland's controversial 2010 World Cup play-off defeat.

"Outgoing Fifa president Sepp Blatter is not here to watch today's game in the ground that he helped to pay for, but he has not been forgotten either - some fans have brought along a cardboard cut-out of him - and that cheque."

Build-up to today's match is under way right now on BBC Radio 5 live.

Presenter Mark Chapman is joined at the Aviva Stadium by commentators Ian Dennis and John Murray, with former Tottenham, QPR and England forward Clive Allen on summariser duty ahead of kick-off at 13:00 BST.

Click on the audio icon at the top of this page to tune in.

It is an Ipswich strikeforce for Republic of Ireland as Daryl Murphy and David McGoldrick start in attack.

England boss Roy Hodgson makes six changes to the side that drew with Italy, handing Ryan Bertrand his first start. Phil Jones starts at right back with James Milner, fresh from signing for Liverpool, in midfield. New boys Charlie Austin and Jamie Vardy are on the bench.

Republic of Ireland XI: Westwood; Coleman, Wilson, O'Shea, Brady, McCarthy, Whelan, Hendrick, McGeady; Murphy, McGoldrick.

England XI: Hart, Jones, Bertrand, Henderson, Cahill, Smalling, Wilshere, Milner, Sterling, Rooney, Lallana.

Image source, PA

Yep, for Charlie Austin and Jamie Vardy, today's game could prove to be the biggest of their careers.

There was no schooling at a Premier League academy for these two. Instead, they put in the hard yards to climb through the footballing ranks from non-league to the Premier League and now an England call-up.

All in the space of just six years, too. Roy of the Rovers stuff.

Are they in the England side today? Well the teams are in so it is time to find out...

Image source, SNTV

Champions League final not enough for you, eh?

Andrea Pirlo has barely had enough time to get back to his vineyard and slip into his finest pair of chinos before more football takes centre stage.

It is international football time, with our focus on Republic of Ireland versus England. A meaningless friendly? Try telling Charlie Austin and Jamie Vardy that....

Image source, Getty Images

It is 5.30am. The alarm goes off and up gets a young man from Hungerford to dive into a van with eight other blokes and head off to a building site for a 10 hour shift.

Meanwhile, 200 miles north in Sheffield, another bleary-eyed youngster is rising early to prepare for a long old shift at a factory.

The connection? Fast forward just six years and the pair have not only been able to leave behind them those careers in manual labour, but have risen rapidly through the football ranks to the point that this afternoon they could be playing alongside each other for the England national team.

It is very epitome of a footballing fairy tale...