Republic of Ireland to face Northern Ireland in November

Image: It will be the first time since 2011 that the two nations have gone head to head

The Republic of Ireland will face Northern Ireland in a friendly in November - the first meeting between the two sides since 2011.

The Aviva Stadium will play host to the match on Thursday, November 15, with kick-off at 7:45pm.

It will be the first senior men's game between the two countries since May 2011 and will be the first time that Michael O'Neill and Martin O'Neill have met as rival international managers.

Image: Michael O'Neill's Northern Ireland are set to face the Republic of Ireland in a friendly

The two Ireland sides will use the fixture to prepare for the final round of Group B matches in the UEFA Nations League, with neither nation having a competitive match pencilled in for the date.

Northern Ireland manager Michael O'Neill outlined how playing their close neighbours makes sense for his side.

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"UEFA have made it mandatory that we play a friendly on that date and when we looked at the options across Europe, travelling to Dublin to play the Republic of Ireland made a lot of sense," said O'Neill.

"It means that we can stay on the island for the week, train in our usual environment and play a game that will be a good test for us ahead of the Austria match.

"Both countries qualified for UEFA EURO 2016 and both narrowly missed out on qualification for Russia, so it will be an evenly matched and hard-fought contest. From a personal point of view I am looking forward to managing a team against Martin, a manager who I hugely respect and admire.

"Qualification for UEFA EURO 2020 is our number one priority now and with the UEFA Nations League a potential route to the tournament this game means that we will be as prepared as possible for the Austria match."

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