If the attendance against Oman at the Aviva Stadium was on the sparse side, the crowd for our last meeting against Georgia was not the largest.
That game against the Caucasian side in June 2013 saw Giovanni Trapattoni's Ireland win 4 - 0 against ten men and from the experience of watching Georgia from the stands on that lazy Sunday afternoon, it was hard to draw any conclusions about Temuri Ketsbaia's men given the early nature of that red card for Giorgi Loria and the fact that it was not a competitive international.
But what can we expect in Tbilisi this Sunday in our opening Euro 2016 qualifier?
Player to watch
Spartak Moscow attacking midfielder Jano Ananidze is a real talent and at times has been linked with big clubs in the west.
In the last match against Ireland, he was the first player sacrificed immediately after his team-mate's 20th minute red card, which was disappointing for anyone else who was there to take a good look at his playing style.
Georgia's goalkeeper Giorgi Loria is red carded by Referee Sebastian Constantin ©INPHO/Ryan Byrne
The 21-year-old, a former team-mate of Aiden McGeady and a player who spent last season on loan at FC Rostov, has been around the block since he emerged in 2009 at the age of 17.
Last season he contributed a healthy nine assists and three goals for Rostov.
He already has a quarter of a century of caps for his country and provided a goal and an assist in a 2 - 0 friendly win over Liechtenstein in March. He can play through the middle or on either flank.
Watch him in action with Rostov last season (he is in the No 49 shirt):
Tactics
You may remember the shaven-headed manager Temuri Ketsbaia from such movies as the Newcastle United of the late 90s. The former St James Park fan favourite has been Georgia manager since 2009 and under the 46-year-old they have tended to play a default 4-2-3-1 formation.
Goals will be an issue. None of the current squad have amassed more than half a dozen goals at senior international level. They scored just three goals during 2014 World Cup qualifying.
Temur Ketsbaia at Newcastle ©INPHO/Patrick Bolger
Recent form
Georgia have won two of their last three friendlies, including 2 - 0 wins over Liechtenstein and Saudi Arabia. However their last match saw them lose 1 - 0 against the United Arab Emirates in Switzerland in June.
2014 World Cup qualifying saw them pick up five points in a group featuring Spain, France, Finland and Belarus. They managed to lose 1 - 0 to reigning European champions Spain at home and held France to a goalless draw in Tbilisi which suggests Ireland are in for a hard-fought encounter. They also picked up a narrow win over Belarus at the Dinamo Arena.
On the flip side, they lost to Finland at home in September 2013.
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