Michael O'Neill is preparing to do battle with a familiar face on Sunday , as an old friend attempts to derail Northern Ireland 's Euro 2016 dream . Finland are the opponents at Windsor Park , led by Mixu Paatelainen - the man who gave O'Neill his coaching break as his number two at Cowdenbeath . The pair have already crossed paths on the international circuit , sharing an entertaining 3-3 friendly draw in 2012 , during O'Neill 's early days at the helm . Michael O'Neill is preparing his Northern Ireland side to do battle with Finland in Euro 2016 qualifying . He will be up against former assistant manager Mixu Paatelainen ( pictured ) who is current Finland boss . There is a whole lot more riding on the follow-up , with Northern Ireland having taken nine points from a possible 12 in Group F , while their opponents face a fight to stay in contention with just four points from their four fixtures . O'Neill admits he and Paatelainen have declined to swap advice about other teams on the road to France , but accepts the two men know each other 's style 'inside out ' . 'We 're similar to players , I think . When you 've played at a club with someone and then you 've worked briefly with them as a coach there 's obviously a relationship there . 'But we did n't spend hours on the phone or anything up to that , so the relationship has n't changed at all . Obviously we are less inclined to discuss the opposition because he probably thinks he does n't want to tell me things I perhaps do n't know and vice versa . But we both know each other inside out and how our team will play . 'Regardless of what happens it wo n't affect how close we are . ' O'Neill even sees a parallel between the two national sides , with both he and Paatelainen attempting to eke the best out of a small number of top-tier players , while building a strong group in support . ' I think Mixu has done a great job there and his job is quite similar to mine , ' he said . 'You have a limited pool of players to choose from and he has got them playing in a nice style . 'There 's no doubt Finland are a good team but there is a dependence there on five or six players and the team 's make-up is quite similar to mine . ' Christophe Berra scores as Northern Ireland were beaten 1-0 by Scotland in midweek . Manchester United defender Paddy McNair ( left ) made his debut for Northern Ireland in the defeat . The Northern Ireland match-winner in recent months has been striker Kyle Lafferty , who scored against Hungary , Greece and the Faroe Islands before being shut out in the defeat by Romania . He has had a change of scenery since then , leaving Norwich for a loan spell with Turkish side Rizespor . Part of his motivation for that unexpected move was a desire to get regular game time at centre forward , with the Canaries having used him predominantly in a withdrawn role . Davis , a former Rangers team-mate of Lafferty , explained : 'He just wants to go out and get regular football , and a chance to play up front . 'He 's had a few experiences in other countries so I think at the time he knew it was the time to move on . He had Northern Ireland in the back of his mind , he wanted to improve his football for international level too . 'He 's always going to give you 100 % commitment and effort , give you everything but it 's about getting him focused . 'We 've seen a focused Kyle Lafferty in this campaign so far and long may it continue . '
Northern Ireland boss Michael O'Neill preparing side for visit of Finland . Finland boss Mixu Paatelainan was his assistant at Cowdenbeath . Pair previously met during an entertaining 3-3 international friendly in 2012 .