Ryan Manning drafted in from cold to start for Ireland in Bulgaria

STARTING TEAM: Ryan Manning is the surprise inclusion in the Ireland team for tonight’s Uefa Nations League playoff first leg in Bulgaria (7.45pm). Pic: Stephen McCarthy/Sportsfile

Ryan Manning is the surprise inclusion in the Ireland team for tonight’s Uefa Nations League playoff first leg in Bulgaria (7.45pm). The Southampton left-sided player was only drafted into the squad on Monday following injury withdrawals and goes straight into Heimir Hallgrímsson’s XI in Plovdiv.

Caoimhin Kelleher, Josh Cullen, Dara O’Shea and Nathan Collins are the only players from the team that started the last outing in November, the 5-0 hammering by England, with Collins reverting to his customary defensive berth.