Keith Andrews will win his first competitive international cap when partnering Glenn Whelan in the centre of midfield against Georgia in Croke Park, but Giovanni Trapattoni will wait until later today to decide on the fitness of defender Paul McShane.
McShane has been troubled by a hamstring injury but is pencilled into start the World Cup qualifier, with Stephen Kelly waiting in the wings to deputise if the Sunderland player is ruled out.
The inclusion of Blackburn Rovers midfielder Andrews, ahead of Manchester United's Darron Gibson, caps a meteoric if belated rises to prominence for the 28-year-old Artane man, who last season led the MK Dons to promotion from England’s League Two.
Since his arrival at Ewood Park he has established himself as a Premiership midfielder and, despite the departure of manager Paul Ince, has maintained his presence in the team under Sam Allardyce.
His inclusion is not unexpected after he scored on his debut in the 3-2 friendly defeat to Poland in Croke Park last November after replacing Gibson, who looked short of game time that night and in the 1-0 qualifier win over Cyprus in October.
There’s a familiar look to the rest of the side, with Aiden McGeady preferred to Stephen Hunt on the wing and the in-form Damien Duff is also named.
John O’Shea, Richard Dunne and Kevin Kilbane are the definite starters in defence, while captain Robbie Keane is partnered by player-of-the-year Kevin Doyle up front.
Robbie Keane, meanwhile, is convinced Ireland can top the group ahead of Italy and book their place in South Africa.
Keane, of course, has already experienced a World Cup finals tournament — having announced himself on the biggest stage of all in the Far East in 2002.
But he believes the Republic have never had a better chance of qualifying straight from a group — after taking seven of the first nine points on offer.
He said: “This is our best chance now since I have been involved in the Irish team. Obviously, we qualified for the World Cup in 2002 through a play-off. But this is our best chance to qualify straight.
“I believe with the players and the squad we have, there’s no reason why we can’t do that. Of course, it’s not going to be easy. But we have set ourselves good targets; we have played well in recent games — and we need to continue that now.
“We have to set our sights high — there is no point in being here otherwise. Don’t get me wrong — Italy are a great team with a great manager and great players. But I don’t see any reason why we can’t do it, and it is up to us players to do that and prove that.
“It is not going to be easy, but I believe this is the best chance we have had for a long time.”
Republic of Ireland(v Georgia) Shay Given (Manchester City); Paul McShane (Sunderland) *, John O'Shea (Manchester United), Richard Dunne (Manchester City), Kevin Kilbane (Hull City); Aiden McGeady (Celtic), Glenn Whelan (Stoke City), Keith Andrews (Blackburn Rovers), Damien Duff (Newcastle United); Kevin Doyle (Reading), Robbie Keane (Tottenham Hotspur)
* A final decision will be taken on McShane's fitness later today
Additional reporting PA
