The key talking points ahead of the Republic of Ireland’s clash with Ukraine

The Republic of Ireland go in search of Nations League victory against Ukraine on Tuesday evening having belatedly opened their account with a win over Scotland.

When the sides met in Dublin last Wednesday night, substitute Viktor Tsygankov’s goal proved decisive for Ukraine, although Stephen Kenny’s men, who had also lost 1-0 in Armenia four days previously, responded superbly to the setback with a 3-0 victory over the Scots at the weekend.

Here, the PA news agency takes a look at some of the talking points surrounding the return in the Polish city of Lodz.

Kenny has big decisions to make at the LKS Stadium with his defensive resources having been significantly depleted by Shane Duffy’s suspension, Seamus Coleman’s injury and the withdrawal of John Egan to attend the birth of his child. QPR’s Jimmy Dunne has been drafted into the squad as a result, but Alan Browne and James McClean performed well in the wing-back roles against Scotland and are likely to be retained, while Dara O’Shea and Darragh Lenihan are the leading candidates to join Nathan Collins in the back three.

McClean’s return to the Ireland starting line-up on Saturday brought not only his trademark vim and vigour into the mix, but a vast improvement in the quality of Ireland’s set-pieces. The 33-year-old Wigan man’s delivery added devil to an area in which Ireland are traditionally strong – his corner was headed back across goal by Duffy for Browne to open the scoring against Scotland – and highlighted what they had been missing in the previous two games.

Michael Obafemi chose his first senior start for his country to announce himself on the international stage in style with a superb pass to set up a goal for Troy Parrott and a stunning strike of his own