Irish will need the luck on Wednesday

Tipsters believe Ireland will need to pull off something "very, very special" if they are to get the right result from the second leg of their World Cup play-off on Wednesday.

Giovanni Trapattoni's side lost 1-0 at home to France in the first leg in Dublin on Saturday and now face the two-times winners in Paris.

To go through in normal time, Ireland will need to win by two clear goals, and Betfair's Tareq Quiroz fears this may be too much for them.

"You could argue that the Irish deserved a draw but the facts are France got the solitary goal and are now firm favourites to progress to South Africa," he wrote.

"The French were always going to be a short priced jolly for their home match and at
current odds of 1.53 I would say that is about right."

Betfair is offering odds of 50.00 for a 2-0 win for Ireland in Paris tomorrow – with the home side the favourites for a win overall at 1.55.

A 0-1 score to Ireland, which would take the tie into extra time, is at 16.50.

The first leg was a tight affair, with a deflected goal deciding the scoreline, and Betfair is offering odds of 3.10 on under 1.5 goals appearing in the match.