France vs. Republic of Ireland: Live Stream, Odds and Form Guide for Euro 2016

France and the Republic of Ireland have a stormy recent history on the football pitch, one the latter will be looking to avenge when they meet the host nation in the last 16 of UEFA Euro 2016 in Lyon on Sunday.

For Ireland, the motivation is two-fold. First, there's a place in the quarter-finals at stake. Yet there's also the added incentive of gaining revenge for the Thierry Henry handball that denied the Boys in Green a place in the 2010 FIFA World Cup.

Obviously, the French have the additional pressure that comes with trying to win an international tournament on home soil. They've also been far from impressive during the group stage, despite topping Group A with an unbeaten record.

Before a preview, here's the form guide for both teams, along with odds for the outcome:

Team	Form	Odds
France	DWWWWW	18-35. Draw, 16-5.
Republic of Ireland	WLDLDD	9-1. Draw, 16-5.

Preview

The buildup will naturally be dominated by memories of Henry's helping hand from 2009. BBC's Match of the Day provided a snap of the infamous incident:

Meanwhile, French journalist Florent Fasquel took a look back at some of the press reaction:

But history is exactly that, and Henry shouldn't be Ireland's worry in 2016. Instead, they must focus on breaking up a powerful midfield underpinned by N'Golo Kante's destructive tendencies.

The Leicester City destroyer has been one of the star's of the tournament so far, and he gives his nation a winning edge, per the competition's official Twitter account:

Yet Kante's game isn't all about breaking up play. He's also been very efficient when in possession, as this statistic from OptaJean demonstrates:

Keeping Kante occupied will demand big games from Premier League forwards Shane Long and Jonathan Walters. The latter fully participated in a recent training session and is in contention to feature in Lyon, according to Andy Burton of Sky Sports News HQ (h/t Sky Sports).

Walters and Long can provide the perfect complement of brawn and pace, a combination sure to trouble the French defence. Walters' ability to play in the hole between the midfield and forward lines would put him into contact with Kante, where the Stoke City man must pressure France's deep-lying distributor into some mistakes.

Even that may not be enough to stop a host nation with plenty of creativity and intelligence in forward areas, thanks to Dimitri Payet and Antoine Griezmann. The former scored twice during the group stages and has been the star of the show so far for his country.

Ultimately, France will have enough to overcome a tense opening and win convincingly.

Prediction: France 2-0 Republic of Ireland