St Patrick's Athletic and Sligo Rovers meet for the sixth time since April at Richmond Park tonight, kick-off 7.45pm
St Pat's manager Pete Mahon knows what to expect from the visitors, whom he watched beat Shamrock Rovers in the EA Sports Cup on Tuesday.
Mahon said: 'I travelled down to watch Sligo play Shamrock Rovers in midweek and they were very impressive. As a team they've got better as the season has gone on and are probably the best side in the league at the moment.
'We've played Sligo five times already this season so the players and management know each other pretty well at this stage.
'It's all set up for a great game, there was a great atmosphere at the Showgrounds on Tuesday and hopefully we can match that on Friday night at Richmond Park.'
Mahon welcomes Ryan Guy back from suspension, but Damian Lynch and Paul Byrne are doubtful with ankle injuries. Brian Cash and Gareth Coughlan are unavailable.
Sligo's Joseph Ndo is struggling to shake off an calf injury for the game against his former club.
The former Cameroon international missed the win over Shamrock Rovers and will join Mauro Almeida (Achilles) and Richard Brush (wrist) on the sidelines if he fails to recover. John Russell is available again after a head injury.
Team | Pld | Pts |
---|---|---|
Shelbourne | 6 | 16 |
Derry City | 6 | 11 |
Sligo Rovers | 6 | 9 |
Waterford FC | 6 | 8 |
Galway United FC | 6 | 7 |
Bohemian FC | 5 | 7 |
Shamrock Rovers | 5 | 6 |
St Patrick's Athletic | 6 | 6 |
Drogheda United | 5 | 4 |
Dundalk | 5 | 2 |