Shelbourne will endeavour to maintain their standing atop the League of Ireland Premier Division table when they head to Richmond Park to tackle St Patrick's Athletic on Monday.
The visitors were 1-0 victors over Waterford on Friday evening, while their hosts began life under new management with defeat by the same scoreline to Derry City.
Match preview
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Now under the wing of former Republic of Ireland head coach Stephen Kenny, who only took the reins on Thursday, St Patrick's stint under the 52-year-old began with Friday's visit of Derry, a team that Kenny enjoyed two separate spells in charge of before his forgettable national team spell.
However, Kenny's erstwhile employers had the last laugh at Richmond Park, where a 76th-minute effort from Paul McMullan propelled Derry City to a slender success and extended St Patrick's dismal winless run to three matches, during which only one point has been accrued.
With just a solitary success to boast from their last eight League of Ireland contests, Saints reside in an unremarkable seventh place in the top-flight standings, six points below the podium spots but also four clear of Drogheda United in the relegation/promotion playoff position.
Just a couple more dissatisfactory results could drag Kenny's men closer to danger, though, and not since the 2017 season have St Patrick's finished as low as their current standing, consistently challenging for the European spots over the past six seasons.
Despite Friday's sub-par result and performance, St Patrick's had amassed 10 points from their previous four home contests before going down to Derry, although the sternest test that they could possibly face now awaits.
Priding themselves on low-scoring affairs over the past few weeks, Shelbourne required just the one goal to prolong their unbeaten streak against Waterford on May 17, where a 72nd-minute effort from Sean Boyd did the damage.
That narrow success snapped a sequence of three straight stalemates for the 13-time Irish champions, who have not been crowned champions of the land since 2006 but are currently on course to end that barren 18-year streak without supremacy.
Indeed, the side led by ex-Chelsea winger Damien Duff sit one point better off than St Patrick's recent conquerors Derry City atop the League of Ireland standings, which would also offer an entry route into the 2024-25 Champions League qualifiers as well as sealing national glory.
Across the visitors' last six top-flight outings, only two goals have flown into the Shelbourne nets, but asserting their dominance on the road has not been so straightforward for Duff's team, who are winless in four away from their own headquarters.
However, each of Shelbourne's last three contests against Saints have seen the current league leaders emerge triumphant, including March (2-1) and April's (1-0) top-flight battles, the former of which saw Boyd provide a pair of assists for Will Jarvis at Richmond Park.
Team News
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No St Patrick's players came out of Kenny's debut match nursing any physical problems, but 24-year-old centre-back Tom Grivosti is still on the mend from a cruciate ligament injury and will play no part in this one.
Instead, Conor Keeley and Luke Turner should form the central barrier in front of goalkeeper Danny Rogers, who is keeping Liverpool loanee Marcelo Pitaluga at bay; the latter started the first four games of the season but has been on the bench since.
The lack of recovery time offers scope for some outfield alterations, though, and Goztepe loanee Romal Palmer - a former Manchester City product - could be among those to benefit.
As for the league leaders, key centre-back Paddy Barrett could not see out the win over Waterford on Friday, being forced off in added time through injury, but it is not clear if the 30-year-old has sustained anything serious.
Either way, Lewis Temple is waiting in the wings if Barrett does not make the cut, while Boyd's telling effort on Friday and previous exploits against St Patrick's benefits his chances of displacing John Martin in the number nine role.
St Patrick's Athletic possible starting lineup:
Rogers; Redmond, Keeley, Turner, Breslin; Palmer, Lennon, B. Kavanagh; Leavy; Mulraney, Keating
Shelbourne possible starting lineup:
Kearns; Gannon, Temple, Molloy, Ledwidge; Lunney, Doyle; Burt, Caffrey, Jarvis; Boyd
We say: St Patrick's Athletic 1-1 Shelbourne
While six places and 12 points separate Monday's foes in the standings, their two previous meetings this term have been close-run affairs, and St Patrick's home exploits were applaudable before Friday's reverse.
Factoring in Shelbourne's recent problems on the road, as well as the fact that both sides also working around limited recovery time, a tightly-fought stalemate could be on the cards.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Ben Knapton
