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Belgium's Simon Mignolet: Republic of Ireland will play direct against us

Simon Mignolet believes he knows how the Republic of Ireland will play against his country Belgium in their vital Group E clash on Saturday.

Belgium are under pressure going into Saturday's meeting with the Irish in Bordeaux after losing their Group E opener 2-0 against Italy.

But having worked under Republic of Ireland manager Martin O'Neill for two seasons at Sunderland, Mignolet thinks he knows what to expect from the weekend's opponents.

"They're a team typical of the Premier League," RTBF quoted him as saying.

"The English style -- 90 percent of their players play in the English league.

"I also know their manager very well, who was my coach at Sunderland. I know his style. I know how he wants to play -- it's a direct game with lots of crosses and counter attacks.

"Players like [Shane] Long, [James] McClean and [Jonathan] Walters are players who give 100 percent and love to counter attack.

"Shane Long is very dangerous in the back of defenders and he's a goalscorer but we know all that and we have to make do with it.

"When you compare the quality of the two squads, I think we have the better team.

"But Ireland are a collective group where the players fight for one another. And we have to be sure to do the same thing."