Hello and welcome to Eurosport's coverage of the Euro 2016 Group D qualifier between Georgia and the Republic of Ireland at the Dinamo Stadium. This is Nick Royle (@nickaroyle) taking you through all the action.

The teams are coming out now. There is quite a heat in the stadium for Martin O'Neill's first competitive match in charge. Stephen Quinn looks ridiculously Irish with the full ginger beard look.

Martin O'Neill on Ireland's formation: "We want Glenn (Whelan) to sit back, to allow Aiden (McGeady) and young Quinn to join up with Robbie Keane, to make sure he is not isolated."

As well as Georgia, Martin O’Neill’s men have been drawn alongside Germany, Gibraltar, Poland and Scotland in Group D. Scotland face the World Cup holders Germany in Dortmund later this evening.

Jano Ananidze is another danger man for Georgia. The 21-year-old Spartak Moscow star has been called the new Georgi Kinkladze. He became the youngest player ever to score in the Russian league at 17, but his career has stalled recently and he spent last season on loan to FC Rostov.

Georgia are not renowned for their scoring prowess. They last scored more than one goal in a competitive game in 2009, in a 6-2 defeat to Bulgaria. The squad's highest scorer is the captain Kankava with four.

Ireland's competitive record against ex-Soviet states is impressive: P: 20, W: 18, D: 2, L: 0; GF: 41; GA: 8. They have also beaten Georgia in all four competitive matches.

The big surprise in the Georgia side is that manager Temuri Ketsbaia has gone with Nikoloz Gelashvili, who has 19 caps without a goal and plays his club football in Albania, as the lone striker rather than Levan Mchedlidze of Serie A side Empoli.

The Ireland team enter the pitch at the Dinamo Stadium. 40 minutes until kick off.

Guram Kashia takes his place in the centre of the Georgia defence. The Vitesse player has won Georgian Footballer of the Year for the past two seasons and was once a Chelsea target.

And this is the Georgia side. They are captained by Jaba Kankava, who is course most famous for saving Oleg Gusev’s life after he swallowed his tongue during a Ukrainian league game.

Stephen Quinn makes his competitive debut for Ireland. Aiden McGeady, who is the only ever-present under Martin O'Neill for Ireland, prepares for a ninth straight game.