MORE DANE PAIN ON WAY FOR O’NEILL

Nations League,

CHRISTIAN ERIKSEN will be unleashed on the Republic of Ireland tonight as Denmark look to inflict even more misery on Martin O’Neill.

Having already secured top spot in the Nations League group by beating Wales on Friday, it was believed the Tottenham star would be rested.

But Eriksen (above), who hit a hat-trick in the 5-1 World Cup play-off win in Dublin a year ago, will start in Aarhus.

“He will play and he will start, but we also have to nurse him as much as possible and he probably won’t stay on for 90 minutes,” said boss Age Hareide.

But Leicester keeper Kasper Schmeichel and Borussia Dortmund midfielder Thomas Delaney are suspended.

While O’Neill (right) is desperate to win for just the second time in

11 games, Denmark continue to fly high.

Ireland cannot buy a goal and their luck is unlikely to change against a Danish side that has only conceded three this year.

At the World Cup, they were beaten on penalties in the last 16 by runners-up Croatia and have lost just once in 24 games.

Hareide and O’Neill were teammates at Norwich and Manchester City and O’Neill was once the Norwegian’s landlord.

But they are probably sick of the sight of each other now as this is the fourth meeting between the sides in a year.

Hareide has sympathy for O’Neill’s position, although he is wary of Ireland tonight precisely because of their struggles.

After four years in the job, Hareide quit as Norway manager in 2018 having failed to win a game that year.

Norway were bottom of their World Cup qualifying group at the time and he said: “Sometimes football is hard on managers, especially when the luck is against you. I know Martin and I know that he’ll be working very hard to change that luck.”