The last time Scotland and Northern Ireland met was four years ago, during the first and only Nations Cup in 2011. The result ended as a 3-0 victory in favour of the hosts, courtesy of goals from Kenny Miller, James McArthur, and Kris Commons. Alongside McArthur, who currently plies his trade with Crystal Palace, fellow Premier League-based players Steven Naismith and Allan McGregor are two others who featured in that inaugural match, something that will be a bitter memory for footballers like Paddy McCourt, Chris Baird, and Steven Davis.
Well, a lot has changed since then, and both sides will have their respective EURO 2016 qualifying matches on their minds. For Scotland, they are currently wedged between Germany and the Republic of Ireland behind group leaders Poland and will face Gibraltar next - a team that has yet to win any of their four games so far, let alone score a single goal.
How Scotland compares to upcoming opponents Gibraltar in Group D
Given this, they cannot afford to drop any points and will be keen on putting as many past the newest member of UEFA, who have unfortunately conceded 21 goals in the past quartet of matches, or an average of seven per game. And as they were humbled 3-1 by England in their last fixture, they certainly will hope to get back on track against Northern Ireland on Wednesday evening at Hampden Park.
In terms of personnel, Gordon Strachan does not appear to have too many injuries to be concerned about, as despite Ross McCormack's withdrawal he has apparently not opted to select an alternate.
Meanwhile, Northern Ireland have kicked off their EURO 2016 qualifying campaign in excellent fashion. Michael O’Neill's men currently sit in second place and were unfortunate to see their three-match unbeaten streak snapped by group leaders Romania.
Northern Ireland will next take on Finland in their upcoming EURO 2016 qualifying clash
But ahead of their upcoming game, they do have some concerns as several players have had to withdraw due to injury problems. Niall McGinn and Corry Evans are both in doubt for the friendly against Scotland, whilst Shane Ferguson and Paul Paton have both had to withdraw and were replaced by Daniel Lafferty and Lee Hodson.
One notable inclusion is Manchester United's Jonny Evans, who has been unable to feature for the Red Devils due to a lengthy ban for a spitting incident with Newcastle United's Papiss Cisse.
With both teams gearing up for their quest to make it into the EURO 2016 tournament next summer, this friendly will surely represent a good opportunity to rebound following their disappointments in their last fixtures.
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