The Three Lions have not beaten Ireland since a 2-1 friendly win in March, 1985 but that stat is misleading because this will be the first meeting between the two fierce rivals for 18 years.
The last clash between the two nations resulted in the infamous Lansdowne Road riot in February, 1995 when the game was called off with Ireland leading 1-0 after 20 minutes due to rioting by English fans which injured 20 people.
The two nations have not been drawn in the same qualifying group for either a World Cup or European Championships campaign since Euro 1992 when both matches ended in 1-1 draws.
But these days there is a huge gulf between the two nations in terms of ability, which is reflected in their official rankings with FIFA where England are ranked at number seven in the world and Ireland 39.
Such is the dominance of England in betting that Betfair's Daniel Bevan is reporting that over 90 percent of the money already wagered on the eagerly awaited fixture has been on the home side to win.
And while veterans in John Terry and Steven Gerrard are absent, England have still named a strong squad with plenty of strike power in United pair Wayne Rooney and Danny Welbeck as well as Tottenham's Jermaine Defoe and Liverpool's Daniel Sturridge.
Ireland have yet to finalise their squad but the bulk of their players play for lower division clubs in England and much will still depend on veteran striker Robbie Keane, who now plays with the LA Galaxy in the United States.
Both teams struggled at Euro 2012 where Ireland lost all three matches heavily - scoring just one goal and conceding nine - while England went out on penalties, as usual, to Italy in the quarter-finals.
And both are struggling in qualifying for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, with England currently second in Group H behind Montenegro while Ireland is locked in a three-way battle to finish second - and earn a play-off berth - with Austria and Sweden, behind the runaway leaders in Group C in Germany.
Ireland have lost just two of nine matches since Euro 2012 and England just one of nine but England's form has been far superior - including a recent 2-1 home win over Brazil - while Ireland suffered a humiliating 6-1 home loss against Germany in World Cup qualifying as well as losing to Greece in a friendly.
England to keep a clean sheet at the odds of $2.08 at Betfair looks a good betting foundation for this match given the Irish have failed to score in two of their past four matches - when up against higher quality opposition - in Greece and Sweden.
A 1-0 win for England has come up the early favourite in correct score betting at Betfair at odds of $7.20 but we like the look of a 2-0 win for the home side at odds of $7.60.
As for the first goal scorer market, Rooney is the $4.50 favourite and $5.50 at Betfair in a game in which he could even captain England due to the absence of Gerrard with England manager Roy Hodgson tipped to give the skipper's armband to either Rooney or Chelsea's Frank Lampard.
And after a frustrating season with United - in which he played second fiddle to Robin van Persie and is reportedly on the lookout for a new club for next season
Rooney will have plenty of motivation in a game in which plenty of others may see as a burden at the end of a long season.
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