Kenny Miller
Former Scotland striker on BBC Radio Scotland

Scotland have calmed down a bit and got their foot on the ball in the last couple of minutes. But Ireland are not giving them an easy way through.

The home side are right up for this!

Craig Gordon has to beat away a cross from the right, and then Scott McKenna heads out another cross. The Dublin crowd are roaring their side on.

Scott McTominay is back on the pitch for Scotland.

This is not ideal for Scotland. Scott McTominay looks to have twisted his ankle and is hobbling about after a long time down.

Here we go at the Aviva!

The anthems were rousing anyway. Who's winning this? Thumbs up for the home side, Ireland, thumbs down for Scotland!

Matt Gault
BBC Sport NI at Aviva Stadium

Tell you what, there's a cracking atmosphere in here with just a few minutes to kick-off.

The Scots have certainly brought their voices, but the home fans have tried their best not to be outdone.

The Ukraine game here on Wednesday fell flat in terms of spectacle. Let's hope this one delivers a bit more excitement.

Scotland manager Steve Clarke on Premier Sports: "We had a disappointing defeat and we had to put that right on Wednesday, we did that, and we look forward to another tough game.

"It should be a great atmosphere and hopefully a great game for the public here.

"It's normal rotation [making the two changes] and trying to freshen the team up without taking too much away."

James McFadden
Former Scotland forward on BBC Radio Scotland

Image source, SNS

Ireland manager Stephen Kenny on Premier Sports: "It's such a quick turnaround. This is our third game from last Saturday but we've refreshed the team. That should give us the energy we need.

"We are disappointed. We've been on a good run with one defeat in 12, unbeaten in eight, we approached this week with confidence.

"We haven't punished the opposition in the way we should have so we only have ourselves to blame in that regard.

"But this is an important game for us. If we were to beat Scotland today this would be the biggest result here in seven years."

Despite Ireland's recent woes, Scotland boss Steve Clarke expects a stern test.

"Anyone going to Dublin to play can expect a tough game," he said.

"Obviously their last two games have gone against them - but only by one goal. Previous to that, they had an eight-game unbeaten run and within that was Portugal and Belgium.

"They probably started the group with high expectations. It hasn't worked out for them so far. They will be looking at the home game against Scotland and hoping to get a foothold in the group to make the games in September meaningful for them."

Tom English
BBC Scotland's chief sports writer

Scotland are in town for an important Nations League tie and this Irish team is in crisis. The stats that document their demise are mind blowing. Kenny has won only five of his 24 games in charge.

We might hear familiar chat about a draw away from home being a decent result. It's not. Not in the context of this group, when you have Ukraine in there with you. Ireland are low-lying fruit and they must be picked. This is a must-win against a team that is desperately low on self-belief.

You can read Tom English's thoughts in full here.

The World Cup play-off defeat by Ukraine still stings for Scotland, but they responded well with a very comfortable 2-0 win at home to Armenia on Wednesday.

They'll aim to pick off an Ireland team at a low ebb, and some will feel they need to in order to fully put the Ukraine defeat behind them.

Steve Clarke's men will face the same foe again twice in the Autumn, so maximum points in this window will set them up nicely.

Image source, SNS

Shay Given
Former Republic of Ireland goalkeeper on BBC Radio Scotland

Image source, SNS

The BBC Radio 5 Live commentary team of Conor McNamara, Pat Nevin and Stephen Kelly are in position and ready to roll.

You can access that, as well as BBC Radio Scotland commentary, at the top of the page!

Ireland manager Stephen Kenny says he doesn't fear for his job despite results since he took charge - including back-to-back defeats in this group.

"No, I don't feel pressure, only internal, disappointed that we've not got points on the board and professional pride," he said.

"We had a good run where from March to March we scored 23 goals, which is a really high amount for an international team.

"Then, in the last two games, we have come up short in front of goal. It doesn't mean everything is wrong, it just means we haven't capitalised on the opportunities."

The Stephen Kenny era promised much and delivered little for Ireland in the early games, before an eight-match unbeaten run suggested a corner had been turned.

But defeats by Armenia and a second-string Ukraine when the manager's stated aim was the win this Nations League group has undermined recent progress.

Ireland's record under Kenny is just five wins in 24 games, including some embarrassing losses to Luxembourg and the Armenians.

Former manager and player John Giles is among those who believe this is the worst group of players the country has had.

Can they revive their fortunes with a first ever Nations League win against Scotland?

Image source, Getty Images

The last time these sides met was in qualifying for the 2016 European Championships - where Ireland ended up beating Scotland to a play-off berth.

That's despite the fact Scotland won 1-0 at Celtic Park thanks to Shaun Maloney's goal, and then earned a 1-1 draw in Dublin.

Image source, SNS

Image source, SNS