Galway United make the trip to St Patrick's Athletic on Friday evening looking for the victory that could move them into third place in the League of Ireland standings.
Meanwhile, St Patrick's find themselves in seventh position and in need of a win to ease any lingering concerns regarding a potential relegation battle.
Match preview
After last season's promotion from the second tier, everyone associated with Galway may have been content with a consolidation season in the top flight.
Instead, John Caulfield's outfit are threatening to achieve something special having put themselves in a position where they sit in fourth place with two matches in hand.
Galway still sit a massive 10 points adrift of the leaders, yet conceding just nine times in 17 league matches is the standout statistic in the entire division.
Furthermore, the Tribesmen are currently on a nine-match undefeated run, albeit recording four wins and five draws during that streak.
Despite their defensive record, Galway did concede twice and need to score two last-gasp goals to overcome ninth-placed Drogheda United by a 3-2 scoreline in their most recent away fixture.
As far as St Patrick's Athletic are concerned, their campaign is already at risk of petering out on the back of last season's third-placed finish.
A five-match run without a win has left Stephen Kenny's team with just 20 points from 19 matches at a time when they have played two games more than all the other teams fourth and below.
Their cause has not been helped by conceding a late goal to draw 2-2 at Bohemians last time out, while they head into this contest having suffered two defeats in a row at Richmond Park.
Although Galway have not been that impressive in the final third, this is a St Patrick's side that have kept just one clean sheet in nine attempts.
Team News
Although Cian Kavanagh scored his first league goal of the season as a substitute last time out, the forward may remain among the replacements.
Alex Nolan appears more likely to get the nod over Jake Mulraney at right wing-back, with any more alterations dependent on whether Kenny feels that his side needs a different look to it after the 92nd-minute equaliser that they conceded at Bohemians.
Caulfield may be prepared to select the same Galway XI from the win over Dundalk, providing that a number of players overcome knocks sustained during the second half against Dundalk.
If alterations are made, Karl O'Sullivan and Wassim Aouachria - for just his second start of the campaign - appear most likely to be drafted into the starting lineup.
St Patrick's Athletic possible starting lineup:
Rogers; McLaughlin, Turner, Redmond; Nolan, Lennon, Forrester, Palmer, McClelland; Keating, Melia
Galway United possible starting lineup:
Clarke; Esua, Nugent, Brouder, Slevin; McCormack, Dervin; McCarthy, Hurley, Kazeem; Walsh
We say: St Patrick's Athletic 0-2 Galway United
While this has the potential to be a competitive fixture, we cannot ignore where Galway could be if they win their games in hand. Possessing the best defensive record in the division, the visitors could run out winners and keep a clean sheet in the process.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Darren Plant
