It’s hard to see how taking on Switzerland on their own patch could be anything other than a seriously daunting experience for Ireland but Enda Stevens will be only too happy to be back in the thick of things in Geneva tonight.

Seamus Coleman believes Ireland can buck the odds by getting the win in Geneva tonight which would transform a difficult qualifying group into “an unbelievable campaign”.

It’s not ‘do or die’ for Ireland tomorrow tonight – more like a case of ‘do but not die’.

One of Shane Duffy’s first thoughts after emerging “knackered” but alright from the 90 minutes in Tbilisi was to pay tribute to Brighton for not standing in the way of his international commitments despite their initial fears that his calf injury would be of a much longer duration.

Aaron Connolly is very much in Mick McCarthy’s mind for a starting place in Geneva tomorrow night but if the Brighton bright spark is to be given the nod, the manager suggests he might need support up front.

The Republic of Ireland have drawn 0-0 against Georgia in their Euro 2020 qualifier in Tbilisi.

Greetings from Tbilisi where, after a long haul that saw us checking into our hotel at 4.30am, a modest proposal formed in my addled brain: I think Istanbul should be twinned with Limerick Junction.

It didn’t take long at Mick McCarthy’s pre-match press conference for the visitors present to learn that Aaron Connolly’s fever had already reached Tbilisi.

Sean Maguire has endured more than his fair share of all-too-familiar injury woes in recent years, so absolutely the very last thing he needed, days before Ireland hosted Switzerland in Dublin in early September, was something described by Preston manager Alex Neil as “the most bizarre injury I’ve ever seen.”

Matt Doherty pauses as he weighs up the question.

Shane Duffy will be on this afternoon’s flight which will take the Irish squad to Tbilisi for Saturday’s Euro 2020 qualifier against Georgia.

Glancing down at his notebook, the journalist prefaces his question for Conor Hourihane with what he believes is a statement of fact.

“It does help that we’re both from Cork and we can understand each other.”

You’d be hard-pushed to find anyone in Irish football not entirely delighted about Aaron Connolly’s dream weekend which saw the 19-year-old’s two-goal debut in the Premier League followed by a call-up to the senior Ireland squad.

Following his dream debut in the Premier League on Saturday, Aaron Connolly will take his first steps as a senior Ireland international when he trains with the rest of Mick McCarthy’s squad in Abbotstown this afternoon.

Brighton’s Shane Duffy and Sheffield United’s David McGoldrick could yet be fit for Ireland’s game against Switzerland on Tuesday week.

Mick McCarthy has offered his support to Richard Keogh, as the veteran Irish defender begins his recovery from the career-threatening knee injury which he sustained in a car crash last Tuesday night following which two of his Derby County teammates - Tom Lawrence and Mason Bennett - were charged with drink-driving.

Blackburn Rovers defenders Darragh Lenihan and Greg Cunningham have been called up for the Republic of Ireland's Euro 2020 qualifiers this month.

A look at the Republic of Ireland's player performances against Bulgaria tonight.

In a spirit of, as he put it,“nothing ventured, nothing gained”, Mick McCarthy has made the left-field decision to play Conor Hourihane atleft-back against Bulgaria at the Aviva Stadium tonight.

As far as Mick McCarthy is concerned, the good news is that Georgia held Denmark 0-0. And the bad news is that Georgia held Denmark 0-0.

Scotland bounced back from last weekend’s humiliation in Nice with a gritty 17-14 win over France at Murrayfield.

New York, Paris, London and Milan host world-renowned Fashion Weeks, but there are others that have editors and influencers scrambling for front-row seats. Pitti Uomo in Florence is one of them. Niamh O’Donoghue rounds up the new, cutting-edge fashion destinations.

Mick and Seamus had done their bit to temper the giddiness. Coach and captain had held up Ireland’s struggles against Gibraltar two months ago as reason for caution ahead of this latest European qualifier, but there was always the sense that the audience were nodding heads out of respect rather than agreement.

Mick McCarthy couldn't work it out.

As expected, Ireland have overcome Gibraltar thanks to an own goal and a late Robert Brady strike. Ger McCarthy runs the rule over the lessons learned.

After doing the heavy lifting in Copenhagen on Friday, Ireland should be relishing a comparatively easy shift in Dublin tonight.

Blown about by erratic and deceptive winds of change in Abbotstown and a no-nonsense full force gale in Gibraltar, Irish football was in urgent need of some shelter from the storm at the Aviva on Tuesday night.

After the Rock, it’s time for Ireland to roll.

Vladimir Weiss admits he will know what Georgia’s Euro 2020 fate is likely to be by the time the final whistle blows in tonight’s qualifier against the Republic of Ireland.

Unlike the ultra-defensive Gibraltar, Mick McCarthy can expect Georgia to adopt a more orthodox 4-1-4-1 formation that held Switzerland scoreless for close to an hour last Saturday.

Mick McCarthy insists he hasn’t given up on the idea of Matt Doherty playing on the right side of midfield for Ireland, even though a lack of penetration and crosses into the box meant the manager opted to replace the Wolves man with Robbie Brady before the hour mark in Ireland’s grim 1-0 win in Gibraltar on Saturday.

Shares in Paddy Power-Betfair jumped by as much as 2.5% on the back of the betting group taking a punt on the growing eastern European markets of Georgia and Armenia.

The GAA’s casual relationship with the notion of home advantage never ceases to amaze, writes Brendan O’Brien.

For rugby in Spain, hosting the Champions Cup final will be a welcome diversion from the World Cup qualifier loss to Belgium in March, says Brendan O’Brien.

Rugby Europe is to analyse the performance of the Romanian referee in charge of Belgium's controversial upset of Spain this weekend in a meeting on Friday.

Harry Arter’s Plan B when a thigh injury ruled him out of last year’s European Championships was a holiday in Marbella with a bunch of mates followed by a stint in Barcelona with his partner.

“GOL! GOL! GOL-GOL-GOL-GOL!! HAMEZ MAKLAINES!!! GOL! GOL! GOL!!!!” Which is how George Hamilton might have sounded in Cardiff had he donned a Panama hat.

The joys of Cardiff on a Monday night in October.

You’ll remember the bottle of gin from Friday. The hipsterish Brooklyn Gin with the hand-cracked juniper berries and freshly cut citrus peels. The seal remains unbroken.

Martin O’Neill had told us to keep the faith and events last night, in Dublin, Vienna, and elsewhere besides, will have secured no small number of converts as the Republic of Ireland push for Russia’s promised land.

Enda McEvoy reflects on how the game - and punditry - played out on TV.

Tom Lawrence was the hero as Wales boosted their World Cup qualification prospects with a hard-fought victory over Georgia in Tbilisi.