The Republic of Ireland team that should start against Northern Ireland

The Republic of Ireland take on Northern Ireland on Thursday night in Dublin.

The friendly match gives both teams a chance to turn around their poor runs of form, as both are on course to be relegated from their respective Uefa Nations League groups. Martin O'Neill also has a chance to experiment with his squad after two disappointing results last month. Here's the team we would pick for the game. https://twitter.com/SportsJOEdotie/status/1063032748884008960 In goal, Darren Randolph starts. The Middlesbrough goalkeeper has been one of Ireland's most dependable players over the last year, and is a regular at club level. It would be interesting to see if Liverpool's Caoimhin Kelleher gets some playing time. If not, it's not the end of the world. The 19-year-old's time will come, and Ireland have a solid number one in Randolph. We've opted for a back-three and the same three defenders that started against Wales last month - Shane Duffy, Richard Keogh and Kevin Long. John Egan is also worthy of inclusion. In the wing-back positions, Seamus Coleman starts on the right and Enda Stevens starts on the left. Stevens has been an ever-present for Sheffield United in the Championship this season and has impressed in his brief appearances for Ireland. Coleman is guaranteed to start. Matt Doherty would have been in contention to start in either of the wing-back positions, but he has returned to Wolves with an injury. In midfield, Glenn Whelan starts on his 85th and final cap for Ireland. Conor Hourihane and Robbie Brady start alongside the Aston Villa midfielder. Brady is back in the squad after a lengthy injury absence and goes straight into the team. Hourihane starts ahead of Jeff Hendrick because it's about time we got a proper look at what he can do in an Ireland shirt. The Villa midfielder had to watch Cyrus Christie, a full-back, play ahead of him in the matches last month. He has been in good form for his club and warrants a run-out against Northern Ireland. Up front, we've picked James McClean and Sean Maguire. McClean isn't suited to playing as a wing-back and doesn't fit in anywhere else in this team. The Stoke City winger has looked comfortable playing up front and is capable of pressing the opposition and chipping in with the odd goal. Maguire has recently returned to action for Preston North End after some time out injured. Callum Robinson was impressive against Wales and Denmark. He has also formed a strike partnership with Maguire at club level, so he is an option to possibly start ahead of McClean. Here's the team we would pick: