Dundalk v UCD (Premier Division)

Despite the fact Dundalk could only draw away to Shelbourne on Friday night while league leaders Shamrock Rovers collected back-to-back Dublin derby wins on Friday and Monday against Bohemians and St.Pat’s respectively, for Dundalk to be in a position where should they win their two games in hand they could find themselves just four points behind the Hoops is a great testament to the job Stephen O’Donnell is performing at Oriel Park. 

However, there can be no room for complacency or perhaps looking past this home tie with UCD given the Students came from 2-0 down to claim a point against Dundalk when the sides last met. That poor performance from Dundalk seemed to give O’Donnell’s players a good boot up the backside with the Louth club winning the following five matches they played with Friday’s scoreless draw in Tolka extending Dundalk’s unbeaten run to six matches. 

As for UCD, despite losing their two-star players Colm Whelan (injury) and Liam Kerrigan (transfer) in recent weeks, Andy Myler’s side continues to battle against the odds to stay in the division. The Students have put in a string of battling displays and have managed to record 1w,1d,2l since the last meeting with Dundalk. 

Unfortunately for the College, Finn Harps managed to come from 2-0 down with just two minutes remaining at home to St.Pat’s on Friday and claim a 2-2 draw which leaves the gap between UCD and Harps at the bottom at three points while Haps have a much better GD. 

Should the gap begin to grow any wider then UCD’s survival chances will start to look very slim indeed but a trip to Oriel Park this weekend is unlikely to aid their cause. Since supporters returned to grounds following COVID-19 towards the end of last year in Ireland, Dundalk have been a different animal at home and are yet to lose on home turf this season. 

The Lilywhites cruised past UCD 2-0 when the Students came to Oriel Park earlier in the season and a similar result here seems likely. While Dundalk haven’t been creating huge amounts of chances in games this season, they’ve been rock solid at the back and currently boast the joint best defensive record in the league.

UCD have scored just 12 goals in 20 games (worst in league) so backing Dundalk -1 looks a great play in this one.

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Bohemians v Derry City (Premier Division)

This has been one of the most enjoyable fixtures to watch in recent years with both teams scoring in the last 7 renewals of this H2H contest. Last season’s 3-3 draw between the teams was one of the most enjoyable League of Ireland games in many a year so let’s hope we get more of the same here. 

However, this latest encounter is a meeting of two sides who seem to be struggling for confidence with Bohemians suffering yet another Dublin derby defeat to rivals Shamrock Rovers last week while Derry City huffed and puffed to a first win in nine matches against bottom side UCD last time out. 

While Bohs supporters will be hurting from yet another derby defeat, there were plenty of positive performances in the game, particularly from Promise Omochere who could be the next big thing to come out of Dalymount Park. As for Derry, their drop-off in form is more of a headscratcher given the great start they enjoyed but there does seem to be an overreliance on striker Jamie McGonigle. 

Which of Omochere or McGonigle are more clinical on the night could be the deciding factor in this match but with City scoring in their last six matches and coming up against a Bohs defence who’ve been far from watertight this season, Derry will fancy their chances of extending that scoring run. As for Bohs, if they play to a similar level as they did at times against Shamrock Rovers there’s every chance they can trouble an out-of-form Derry City

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Bray Wanderers v Cork City (First Division)

You couldn’t find a match anywhere in the world that features two clubs in totally contrasting situations at the moment if you tried. On and off the field, Bray Wanderers have been a disaster this season with yet again more fan issues making headlines during their 2-2 draw against Wexford on Monday night, a game in which Bray somehow threw away a comfortable 2-0 lead. 

As for Cork City, everything is coming up a bed of roses for the Rebels at present with Colin Healy’s men extending their lead at the top of the First Division with wins against Cobh Ramblers and Treaty United respectively while just yesterday, City announced the capture of striker Louis Britton after the Englishman’s loan spell at Waterford came to an end. 

Cork City fans will fondly remember their last trip to the Carlise Grounds as their side put six past a helpless Bray Wanderers defence and with Bray suffering a 5-1 defeat at home very recently to Cork’s main title rivals Galway, there’s got to be a fear among the few remaining Bray fans left that a similar hammering could be on the cards here. 

Only the bottom two clubs have won fewer games than Bray Wanderers this season (3 wins in 20) while Cork City are very much champions-elect at this moment in time. There’s only one way you can look at this game and that’s a comfortable Cork City victory. 

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Wexford FC v Athlone Town (Division 1)

It’s been a fantastic few days for Wexford FC and their hopes of a place in the play-offs with Ian Ryan’s men claiming a shock win at home to a very good Longford Town side on Friday night before coming from the death to claim a point in Bray on Monday. Those results coupled with Treaty United’s 5-0 hammering at home to Cork Caity have seen Wexford leapfrog Treaty into the final play-off position on offer in the First Division. 

Meanwhile, almost two months after sacking manager Martin Russell, Athlone Town are still no closer to appointing a successor and as a result, they continue to appear totally rudderless on the pitch. A second 5-2 defeat of the season at home to Waterford on Monday night confirmed that and Wexford will be licking their lips for a chance to get at this transparent Athlone Town defence on Friday night. 

No team across the two divisions has conceded more goals than the Midlanders this season (48 goals in 19 matches) and with Wexford scoring 2+ goals in their last 3 matches on the spin it’s almost impossible to look past them for victory here. 

Ian Ryan’s attacking players are in fine fettle at the moment, in particular Jack Doherty who on his day is still one of the most exciting and creative players in the First Division. It’s extremely unlikely Athlone Town will be unable to deal with the guile of somebody like Doherty given they’ve been so naive in their approach to defending throughout the 2022 campaign. 

Wexford needed a quick start after the mid-season break in order to reach a play-off place and at this moment in time, you wouldn’t back against them to achieve that ambition in what’s been a very progressive season for the club so far. 

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Sligo Rovers v Shelbourne (Premier Division)

Despite getting off to a great start in the Sligo Rovers hot seat with a 3-0 win at home to local rivals Finn Harps, John Russell would have seen a lot of the problems that cost Liam Buckley his job this season in Friday’s scoreless draw away to Drogheda. 

The Bit O’Red have really struggled for creativity this season and in truth, were lucky not to lose in County Louth last time out with Drogheda looking like the only side who might create a goal-scoring moment on the night. 

As for Shelbourne, it’s been highlighted time after time this season that they need more options in the final third but in credit to Reds boss Damien Duff he’s made his team incredibly difficult to play against as demonstrated again in the scoreless draw with Dundalk last time out. 

Sligo Rovers will need no reminder of what a tricky side Shelbourne are to play against given the Dublin club have beaten Sligo in both H2H’s this season (0-1 & 2-1). The fact that Shelbourne have performed far better on the road than at home this season will be another red flag for Sligo Rovers fans ahead of this latest encounter with only Shamrock Rovers, Derry City and St.Pat’s claiming more away points than Shelbourne this season. 

With the July transfer window now upon us, Damien Duff will be desperate to find some extra attacking options given his team are the joint-second lowest goalscorers in the division (17 goals in 20 games). 

With Sligo Rovers in excellent form at home of late (unbeaten in their last 5) and Shels one of the toughest sides to beat when they’re on their travels, this could be a case of both sides canceling each other out in a fairly low scoring affair. 

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