St Patrick's Athletic will go in search of a fifth successive victory when they face struggling Drogheda United at United Park on Friday night.
The hosts find themselves second from bottom in the League of Ireland Premier Division table following back-to-back defeats, while the visitors are flying high in third place.
Match preview
Drogheda United head into Friday's clash on the back of a 3-2 defeat at Shelbourne, despite the best efforts of 18-year-old striker Freddie Draper, who bagged a brace on Monday to net his second double in three matches.
Draper has now scored eight of Drogheda's 18 league goals this season, with seven goals coming in his last eight appearances, although the Claret and Blue Army remain the second-lowest scorers in the division.
Not only have Drogheda lost each of their last two games, but they have also lost four of their previous six, with a 3-0 defeat at St Patrick's Athletic coming less than a month ago.
When you look at the bigger picture, Kevin Doherty's men have managed to win just two of their last 11 league outings, recording two draws and seven losses to remain second from bottom in the standings.
Having won only two of their nine home league games this season – scoring a measly seven goals in the process – the Drogs possess the second-worst home record in the division, so they will be desperate to pick up a positive result on Friday.
At the opposite end of the table, St Patrick's Athletic find themselves third – 15 points above Drogheda and four points shy of first-placed Shamrock Rovers – having won 11 of their 20 matches this season.
Following a shaky start to the season, the Dublin outfit have upped their game in recent months, notching 10 victories in 14 league outings to cement their place in the top three and remain in the hunt for European football.
Despite seeing just 39% possession on home soil, Jon Daly's men claimed a hugely impressive 4-1 victory over second-placed Derry City last time out, racking up 19 shots while limiting Derry to a solitary attempt on target.
The Saints have now won each of their last four matches, with victories over Shelbourne, Dundalk and University College Dublin preceding Monday's thrashing of Derry City, and they have also won six of their previous seven league outings.
Having won three of their last four away league games – and five of their previous seven – St Patrick's Athletic will back themselves to notch another road victory at the expense of off-form Drogheda United.
Team News
Drogheda United have reported no injury problems ahead of Friday's clash, meaning that manager Kevin Doherty has a full-strength squad at his disposal.
In-form striker Freddie Draper will continue to lead the line, while Adam Foley, Dayle Rooney and Darragh Markey are expected to line up behind the teenager in a 4-2-3-1 formation.
Elsewhere, Luke Heeney and Gary Deegan will anchor the midfield, with Conor Keeley and Emmanuel Adegboyega resuming their partnership at centre-back.
St Patrick's, on the other hand, are still without injured centre-back Joe Redmond, who has missed the past 11 matches due to a hamstring issue.
As a result, Noah Lewis and John-Alan McGrath will continue to operate in the middle of the Saints' backline, while Sam Curtis and Anthony Breslin will occupy the full-back roles.
Jon Daly will likely stick with his favoured 4-3-3 formation, meaning that Conor Carty, Ben McCormack and Eoin Doyle will make up the visitors' forward line on Friday.
Drogheda United possible starting lineup:
Wogan; Ahui, Adegboyega, Keeley, McNally; Deegan, Heeney; Markey, Rooney, Foley; Draper
St Patrick's Athletic possible starting lineup:
Lyness; Curtis, Lewis, McGrath, Breslin; Forrester, Lennon, Murphy; Carty, Doyle, McCormack
We say: Drogheda United 0-2 St Patrick's Athletic
While St Patrick's Athletic have won each of their last four matches – scoring 10 goals along the way – Drogheda United have lost four of their previous six encounters.
With that in mind, we expect the visitors to notch a fourth victory in five away games, while the Saints are also on course to keep a clean sheet against the low-scoring Drogs.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Top tip
Ben Morris
