SOCCER/Rep of Ireland v Italy: He will have had a big hand in every other aspect of his team's preparations for next month's vital World Cup qualifier against France, so it should be no surprise really to hear that Brian Kerr took it upon himself to sort out the opponents for his side's last friendly before Zizou and company come to town in a couple of weeks' time.

A meeting with Marcello Lippi at a Uefa conference provided the opportunity Kerr needed to pop the question to his Italian counterpart.

"I asked him if he'd like to come for a game seeing as they enjoyed the crush at Dalymount last time," beamed the Ireland manager as he explained how the fixture had been arranged.

The Dalymount crush, of course, might well explain why it's taken the Italians a couple of decades to pay another visit to Dublin. There was mayhem that night in 1985 when some 40,000 turned up at Phibsborough to see Ireland lose 2-1.

There might indeed have been deaths as the FAI's leadership, perhaps tired of the stick they were taking over not having a bigger stadium for international matches, decided to pretend they had and so everybody with the price of a ticket was allowed into the ground.

The Irish let their visitors have the home dressing-room, so embarrassed were the players by the size of the away dressing-room.

There might be a little less humility this evening as Kerr sets out to persuade his players they are the equals of anyone at Lansdowne Road ahead of the France game.

"It's not the same," he observed yesterday. "It's not the same when it's a friendly, they're not the same players, it won't be the same system. But if you're going to get a game to prepare yourself for an important match with France then who better than the Italians because they're the perfect opponents."

Lippi has lost several of his bigger stars since naming his squad on Sunday but even Italy's lesser lights shine brightly by the standards of the international game and so tonight should provide something of a spectacle.

Kerr, as usual, seems set to set more store by the result than his opponent, and has made it clear he would like a win as well as a strong performance.

But there were suggestions in yesterday morning's training session at Lansdowne Road that there may be changes to what might be seen as his strongest available line-up.

Graham Kavanagh returned to Wigan having failed to recover sufficiently from the foot injury that has been troubling him over the past couple of weeks, so Matt Holland and Kevin Kilbane look certain to play together in central midfield.

But little else is certain at this point other than the fact Richard Dunne and Shay Given will both start the game.

In yesterday's final run-out, though, Stephen Elliott partnered Clinton Morrison in attack, suggesting - despite Kerr's subsequent insistence he is undecided on the matter - that he might start there this evening. And Steve Finnan and Ian Harte featured at full back in what was the stronger line-up.

Both could easily be omitted when Kerr reveals his final selection this evening. But Harte's inclusion would make sense in the context of the manager's subsequent admission of concern over the left back's plight in Spain, where his club, Levante, are about to start life back in the second division.

"It's not ideal," he said. "The build-up in the top flight is very patient and while I wouldn't be that familiar with the way the game is played in the second division. I couldn't see it being played at the sort of pace we'd be used to in internationals.

"I think Ian understands that he's good enough to play at a higher level but at the end of last season, after not playing at all for a few weeks over there, he showed his professionalism by coming in and doing very well for us, so I'm sure it can still work out for him.

"The reality is that if they don't move him on (before the transfer deadline at the end of this month) he'll just have to work away there."

Tonight's starting side, though, is sure to be built around a good many regulars. Damien Duff, Kenny Cunningham and Andy Reid all look certain to be involved, at least until Kerr starts to chop and change things at the halfway point.

Another win over highly rated opponents would boost confidence in the camp ahead of the encounter with the French. But as Kerr himself points out, it is not the same.

Just now it might be argued that the Italians are the better of the two teams Ireland must play over the coming few weeks. There is little question, however, as to which will provide the bigger challenge.

PROBABLE TEAMS

IRELAND: Given (Newcastle Utd); Finnan (Liverpool), Cunningham (Birmingham City), Dunne (Manchester City), Harte (Levante); Duff (Chelsea), Holland (Charlton Ath), Kilbane (Everton), Reid (Tottenham Hotspur); Morrison (Birmingham City), Elliott (Sunderland).

ITALY: De Sanctis (Udinese); Zaccardo (Palermo), Cannavaro (Juventus), Nesta (AC Milan), Zambrotta (Juventus); Gattuso (AC Milan), Pirlo (AC Milan), De Rossi (AS Roma); Del Piero (Juventus), Vieri (AC MIlan), Gilardino (AC Milan).

Referee: P Costa (Portugal)