Shamrock Rovers will be looking to keep hold of top spot in the League of Ireland Premier Division when they visit Derry City’s Brandywell on Friday night.
Although Shamrock are one of three teams locked on 38 points at the top of the table, they find themselves in first place thanks to their superior goal difference.
Meanwhile, Derry City sit sixth in the standings – 13 points behind Shamrock and 15 points clear of last-place Longford Town.
It’s safe to say that Derry have been one of the most unpredictable teams in the Irish top flight this year, with a record of W6-D7-L7 underlining their inconsistency.
It is worth pointing out that Derry City have only lost two of their last 11 league matches, so they haven’t been performing poorly.
However, when you consider that Derry have won just one of their previous ten home games in Ireland’s top tier, they clearly need to up their game at Brandywell.
Trends also show that each of Derry’s last three home matches have produced under 2.5 goals, meaning we are set for a low-scoring encounter on Friday.
On the other hand, Shamrock Rovers head into this clash on the back of a 2-1 victory over Slovan Bratislava in Champions League qualify.
But having lost the first leg 2-0, they were knocked out by the Slovakian outfit and won’t be participating in European football this year.
— Shamrock Rovers FC ☘️ (@ShamrockRovers) July 14, 2021
Still, Shamrock’s recent domestic record is extremely strong. They have only lost three of their last 37 league matches and have not trailed at half-time in any of their last 14 away games.
Shamrock are currently the fourth-highest scorers in the Irish top flight, while they also boast the second-best defensive record in the division.
Head-to-head: Impressively, Derry have failed to beat Shamrock in each of their previous 12 meetings in the League of Ireland Premier Division.
Shamrock have won four of the last five encounters between the teams, although the most recent meeting ended in a 1-1 draw.
Team news: Derry will be relying on Will Patching to produce something special on Friday. The midfielder has bagged six goals and six assists in 16 appearances this term.
As for Shamrock, Graham Burke is their danger man. The former Preston forward has notched eight goals and one assist since moving from the English Championship side.
A low-scoring encounter is on the cards at Brandywell. However, Shamrock should have enough quality to edge out Derry on this occasion.
Forebet predicts that Shamrock will keep a clean sheet on their way to beating Derry by just a single goal on Friday.
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