After losing their World Cup qualifying play-off semi-final against Italy last week, Northern Ireland will play a friendly against fellow lost semi-finalists Wales on Tuesday night.

It’s not the best way to end the March international break, as the Green and White Army will have hoped to qualify for their first World Cup since 1986, but facing the four-time winners in Bergamo was always going to be a difficult challenge.

Northern Ireland manager Michael O’Neill rightfully selected his strongest team to face Gli Azzurri. Still, with this forthcoming friendly being of little to no consequence, it’ll be interesting to watch how much rotation he implements ahead of the trip to Cardiff.

Ideally, this meaningless matchup will help some newer players break into the senior ranks. But O’Neill may have different plans, as he might give his local team, Blackburn Rovers, a significant edge ahead of their own run-in at the bottom of the Championship table.

Michael O’Neill might give Blackburn Rovers an early boost in the relegation battle by starting rival players against Wales.

Back in February, it was revealed that Northern Ireland manager Michael O’Neill will be juggling both the international and his new position at Blackburn Rovers for the rest of the season, having succeeded Valerien Ismael at Ewood Park.

The goal would have been to stay in the Championship, and he’s making a good enough job of it so far, with his Rovers side four points ahead of the bottom three after wins and draws against promotion contenders Millwall and Middlesbrough before the current international break.

However, they are not out of the woods yet, and a lot may happen over the next seven games. With two games in four days over the Easter Weekend, O’Neill’s domestic side might find themselves back in the relegation zone by next week.

Therefore, the 56-year-old may offer his side a little advantage from his position as Northern Ireland’s manager ahead of the weekend by ensuring that several of the key players for sides struggling for survival play a significant role in an unimportant friendly.

More particularly, Isaac Price and Jamie Donley, who play as attacking midfielders for both West Brom and Oxford United, two teams now below Blackburn in the league rankings.

Price played the entire 90 minutes for the Green and White Army against Italy, while Donley played 79 minutes before being replaced by Exeter City’s Josh Magennis. Following a rigorous domestic calendar building up to this international break, the two could benefit from some relaxation before returning to their clubs for a critical seven-game slate.

O’Neill, on the other hand, may choose not to give them that respite, and by playing both of them in substantial sections, they will be even more tired when they return to their respective teams, reducing West Brom and Oxford’s attacking production heading into the Easter Weekend.

On Easter Monday, Blackburn welcomes West Bromwich Albion, and they’ll want every advantage they can get.

Blackburn welcome West Brom to Ewood Park on Easter Monday in a match in which Rovers could open up a significant points margin between themselves and the Baggies, as well as the rest of those below them, with a win heading into the last five games of the season.

There’s little doubt that Northern Irishman Price is the most significant attacking player at the Hawthornes right now. No other player in the Championship generated more opportunities in March than the 22-year-old, and he has contributed to West Brom’s current four-game undefeated streak.

If Michael O’Neill starts Price against Wales and then comes back in from the start against Wrexham on Good Friday, he’ll be in need of a rest for the trip to Ewood Park, which would favor Blackburn in this relegation struggle.

Football is a brutal industry, and as we approach crunch time, it’s all about getting the points by whatever means necessary. And, with three points on Easter Monday bringing Blackburn one step closer to Championship safety, it will undoubtedly be something to watch for when teams are named ahead of the game against Wales on Tuesday night.